Stop Making A Fool Out Of Me
by Rincewind2.0
Summary: A police officer and a stripper, a bad combination? Tia and Neliel are about to find out as the rookie cop Tia stumbles into the club Neliel's working in. Tia&Nel yuri.
1. Chapter 1

**A small back story for my Tia&Neliel smut "Being Bad Feels Pretty Good". Again, happening in the same universe as "It took a cup of coffee" but you don't have to read it to understand this fic, just the same characters appear in both fics. All the fics that happen in the same universe overlap each other in small ways but they can all be read as individual stories, or at least that's my intention. Hope you enjoy this one too, read&review mah darlings.**

**Stop Making A Fool Out Of Me**

"Hey Tia" a tall man with messy long hair lumped down into a chair across her desk and leaned his elbow on the report she was reading. The blonde woman looked at him from under her brow, her thick hair almost covering her icy blue eyes.

"Hello yourself Shunsui" she said and tried to snatch the paper from under his elbow.

"Still here?" the man asked, drawing circles on her desk.

"So it seems" she sighed and gave up trying to get the report back and pushed his arm away.

"On a Friday night, too?" The young police officer sighed and leaned back on her chair, running her hands through her hair.

"I've got nothing better to do, do I?" she asked, holding back a yawn. Shunsui cocked a brow to her and looked around the almost empty office.

"You could come and have a drink with us if you wanted to. It's Kensei's birthday, you know."

"Oh I know. That's all I've heard the whole day", Tia scoffed and crossed her hands under her ample chest, "apparently you're going to a strip club."

"Oh that" Shunsui said and tried to look as if he hadn't known about it, "that's just the guys talking, I don't think we'll make it that far. C'mon, just come along, you work way too hard, you're making us all look bad." Tia uttered a small laugh and leaned her hands on the desk, looking at the older officer. He was like a mentor to her when she had arrived to the force, taking the young rookie under his wing. She was grateful, but didn't really need any protection. She had graduated on top her of her class and was used to take care of herself since she was just a kid. But still, working in a typical male profession and having a reputation of a hard worker wasn't exactly the best position to be in.

"C'mon, you'd get to meet the guys outside work, you need to get some allies here" Shunsui pleaded and looked at Tia with his soft brown eyes. He shuffled himself a bit closer and lowered his voice into a hoarse whisper.

"Besides, I heard there are some nice ladies that would appreciate your company…"

Tia leaned back in shock. She hadn't expected that anyone would've known about her sexual preferences, she hadn't talked about her personal life with anyone, she never really talked with anyone to begin with except for Shunsui. She didn't think she looked like a typical lesbian woman, whatever that meant. She hadn't ogled at other women at her workplace and she wasn't seeing anyone so no one could have seen her with another woman outside her work. She frowned at Shunsui and cocked her head to the side.

"How did you know?" The man smiled softly at her and placed his hand over hers on the desk.

"It's alright, Tia, you can trust people. I'm just very perceptive person, let's put it that way."

"Does anyone else know?"

"Wouldn't think so" he said, leaning back with a smug grin on his face, "actually that was merely a lucky guess, but I think I have a quite good gaydar." Shunsui glanced quickly around the office and winked at Tia, tapping the side of his nose like a conspirator. The woman drew in breath sharply and looked around them to ensure they were alone.

"You mean…" she let her voice trail off and relied that the man would understand what she hadn't said out loud. Shunsui nodded just enough for her to notice and got up from the chair, unfolding his jacket that he had draped over his left arm.

"So, you coming? At least then one of us could get something out of it" he grinned while draping the jacket over his shoulders. Tia frowned as she thought about the offer again. It would be beneficial for her to get to her know the other officers better, being a rookie and a woman on top of that didn't really make her the most popular person in the force. Her more than ample curves didn't help the situation either, she thought she looked more like a stripper than an officer of the law when she poured herself into her tight uniform that couldn't hide her figure even with all its formality. She had already had to put few guys back in line when they had crossed it with their feeble flirting attempts. In those situations she had been glad she had graduated on top of her class, especially since she had received honours in hand-to-hand combat. In the force the word had spread quite fast and she had been left alone, for now at least. She didn't show it or even admit it to herself but inside she was afraid that next time they might not come for her alone. She had heard horror stories in the Academy that lone women were easy catches for horny young men who didn't understand that 'no' means 'no'. One of her closest friends in a class above her had been caught while she was in the showers, but she had never confessed it to anyone. Tia only knew because she had found her herself, lying on the cold tile floors in a state of shock. It had been especially hard to see her like that because she had been the toughest woman Tia had ever met. But her small size had proved a disadvantage in that situation.

"Fine then" she finally sighed, grabbing her jacket from the back of her chair. Shunsui cocked an eyebrow to her whilst eyeing her from head to toe.

"What?" she asked noticing the look.

"Aren't you gonna change into something more…casual?" he asked. Tia blushed slightly, realizing that she probably wouldn't be a very welcome guest in any bar wearing her police uniform. She quickly ran through her closet in her mind and tried to think of something that would be suitable for a night out. She only had her tracksuit with her at the moment, she'd had to go home and change there.

"We have to make a detour by my house" she said, starting to walk out of the office, Shunsui striding lazily beside her. The man towered over her by almost a foot but his slouching posture made him look a bit shorter. He was wearing a bit crumpled suit jacket with velvety trousers, his curly long hair tied to a loose ponytail. He draped his arm over Tia's shoulders, sighing lightly and leaning his head on hers.

"It'll all be alright, Tia, you'll see." The woman hemmed and leaned her head against the man's shoulder. Shunsui was a good friend, without him Tia would've probably been bullied out of the force already. He held some sort of authority among the men with his laidback manners and easygoing attitude. Despite seeming such a relaxed person, he could turn that around so quickly it made your head spin. He had been in the force for many years now and apparently had friends in high places.

They exited the building and stepped into the drizzling rain. Fog was rising of the ground and Shunsui spread his jacket over Tia's shoulders to protect her from the rain. They ran to his car that was parked on the side of the road, jumping inside the old vehicle before the coldness of the weather got to them. Shunsui started the car with some difficulty, the motor coughed first a few times before cooperating. Finally it started to purr steadily, making the man utter a delighted yelp.

"See, she just needs a little love" he grinned to Tia who was shaking the water off her hair. The motor took this as a sign to almost shut down again, which made Shunsui paddle the gas quite aggressively to keep it running. Tia chuckled beside him and leaned back on her seat.

"She seems to like it rough" she remarked, making Shunsui scoff as he slowly rolled the car onto the road and started to drive towards her apartment which wasn't very far from the force.

"So who else will be there tonight?" she asked as they made their way across the rainy streets. Shunsui stopped the car in a traffic light and leaned forward to see ahead.

"Well, Kensei obviously, then Ganju, Hanataro, Iba, Yumichika maybe, we asked Mayuri but I doubt he'll show up, Kaien, Sentaro, Jidanbo…you know, the guys in general. Oh yeah, Findorr and Yylfordt will probably show up later too, they have set the whole thing up. So there are lots of people you can chat to."

Tia shuddered as she pictured all the men in her head one by one. Ganju was okay, he was bit thick but nice, Hana was a big wuss and seemed to be afraid of her, Iba was a typical macho idiot who could be put back in line with one stern look. Yumichika was probably one of the nicest guys in the force besides Shunsui, he did seem to get along with the other men despite being a bit…feminine in some way. Mayuri was still a mystery to her, she had seen the weird blue-haired man with golden eyes on her first day when she had gotten the grand tour of the building. He worked at the forensics apartment by himself, he didn't let anyone else touch his stuff or handle the evidence. He had just eyed Tia oddly when she had greeted him and scoffed as she had offered him her hand. Kaien was his supervisor and he was tough but fair. Tia had a feeling that he was waiting for her to prove herself to him before he could accept her totally. Sentaro and Jidanbo she had seen only in passing, they were usually patrolling on the streets at night. They seemed to be alright, though they treated her with same suspicion as almost everyone else. But the two last men…Tia grinded her teeth together when she pictured the men in her head. They had been the ones who had come onto her on her very first day at work, sneaking up on her while she had been changing her clothes in the locker room. Since she was the first female officer and all the other female workers were secretaries or cleaners they only had one locker room at the moment. She could almost feel their clammy hands on her skin as she thought about it, it was good that they weren't so tough as they acted to be. She had smashed Findorr against the lockers and warned him not to touch her or any other woman ever again. Yyltfordt had just stood aside when he had seen that Tia was serious. She was pretty sure she'd had to pay for that sooner or later.

"We're here!" Shunsui declared as he pulled over to the side of the road next to Tia's house. She had rented a small apartment in a block of flats in a bit dodgy part of town, but it was all she could afford with her current pay. They got out of the car and jogged to the door, Tia fumbling for her keys from her pocket. She let them in and they entered the lobby, which had paint falling off the walls and they could feel the musty air hitting them in the face. The elevator was out of order so they had to take the stairs to the third floor. The floors and walls were stained and the paint chipped, but Tia explained that her neighbours were quite nice, mostly old women or young couples who couldn't afford anything better. So it was pretty peaceful to live there, except when the gangs started to make trouble in the neighbourhood. As of yet that hadn't disturbed their block but you never know. That's why Tia always kept her gun with her, even though it wasn't technically legal. They made their way to her door and Tia opened the door to her small flat.

"Try to make yourself comfortable" she said to Shunsui, leaving him standing in the small entry which had a coat rack and some shoes scattered on the floor. The man hummed and walked a few steps inside the apartment, taking a look around. Tia had disappeared in her bedroom that was in the back, leaving the door slightly ajar. The other room in the flat was a conjoined living room and kitchenette, the bathroom was probably next to the bedroom. Shunsui wandered to the living room and glanced out of the window onto the street below. He saw Tia's uniform fly to her bed from the corner of his eye one clothe at a time.

He lopped down on the worn-out couch and stretched his hands over his head, letting out a long yawn. It had been pretty quiet week but looking after Tia had added some extra to his workload. He didn't mind, but it took surprising amount of energy to worry about someone's safety all the time. He knew that she could probably take care of herself in a tight spot, but he didn't want it to go that far. Keeping up appearances and the tough guy act wasn't really his thing but apparently it was necessary. He had been a little disappointed seeing his colleagues reaction to a female officer in the force, he had hoped they'd been mature about it but that wasn't the case. Shunsui wasn't sure if it was just about her gender, her credential or just her looks. Shunsui glanced back at the living room where he could just make out the outline of Tia's figure. He raised his eyebrows, he could understand why the other men had been awkward about her presence in the force. It had used to be such a masculine environment, full of testosterone even though not all the men were idiotic machos. Still, there'd been a certain brotherly atmosphere about the place and now it had all changed. He knew that they needed Tia's expertise and skills in the force and didn't really miss all the guy talk, it was hard enough the pretend being straight from time to time admits all the girl posters and calendars. But now it seemed that one of those girls most of the guys drooled over had stepped into their workplace and it definitely had had its effect on some of them.

Shunsui's inner musings were interrupted when he heard a light cough behind him and turned around to look. He had to consciously stop himself from gawking at her, apparently she was able to hide some of her curves under her uniform. _This might not be such a good idea after all, _he thought while getting up from the couch and walking to Tia who was standing in the middle of her small flat trying to look casual as her colleague eyed her from head to toe, his amazement pretty obvious in his eyes. She ruffled her blond hair nervously, though she had been used to getting looks from men all her adult life it still felt weird, especially from a close friend.

"I'm sorry Tia, but I have to say" Shunsui said with a smile, "whoa."

"Shut up" she sighed and straightened her black wrestler top that barely contained her breasts. Shunsui reached out his hand to stroke her cheek gently.

"I know, that's why I said I'm sorry. But even I'm not so blind to female beauty that I could deny how good you look."

"I don't look good, I just look like a porn star" she muttered, staring at her toes.

Even though she was just wearing casual, loose fitting jeans and a black top she looked like she could've stepped down a catwalk. Her defined muscles moved slightly under her skin as she shifted in her place, every gesture somehow deliberate and refined. Being a police officer meant that one had to be in top physical condition and Tia looked the epitome of fitness, not too muscular to be unattractive or masculine but firm and powerful. _No wonder she is an expert in hand-to-hand combat, _Shunsui thought while watching Tia grab her leather jacket from the coat rack and swing it on her shoulders. She looked back at Shunsui from over her shoulder and nudged her head towards the door.

"C'mon, let's get this over with."

* * *

><p>When they arrived at the bar, everyone else was already there. The men had taken over a large round table that was situated in the corner and were just flirting with a waitress who was giggling and flicking her hair back. Tia sighed inwardly as they walked over to them, mentally preparing herself to meet her so called friends. She could almost feel how Findorr had been ogling her the minute they walked in, a sly grin spreading to his smug face. She felt like punching the man but had to contain herself, assaulting a fellow officer was a serious crime and probably no one would back her up even if she told them what he had done to her.<p>

"Hello fellas" Shunsui greeted the man, earning a range of cheers and greetings from the men. Their cheers were quickly silenced when they saw Tia walk after Shunsui, peeling off her leather jacket and exposing her casual outfit. She took a seat between Shunsui and Ganju, who was busy staring at her so he didn't even greet her at first.

"Hello to you too, Ganju" she murmured to him in her deep, velvety voice which made the man almost bolt from his chair. He tried to laugh it off nervously and ended up muttering a quiet response into his beer. Tia rolled her eyes and focused her attention to Kensei, who had suddenly forgotten the waitress still standing next to him, trying to grab his attention.

"Harribel…"he managed to say, using her last name. Tia forced herself to flash him a wide smile in return.

"Happy birthday, Muguruma- san" she said, tilting her head slightly to one side, a gesture she had tried to avoid ever since she had seen how other women used it on men. But she couldn't deny its effectiveness, the silver-haired man seemed more smitten than before.

"Errr, thanks Harribel, I guess" he uttered in confusion. Shunsui slapped him firmly on the back, laughing loudly.

"There's no need to be so formal, kids, we're all in the same boat here! Let's just enjoy ourselves, okay?" Others murmured in agreement but were still glancing at Tia. She was shifting awkwardly in her place, feeling their looks almost burn her skin. It made her head feel hot and dizzy and she suddenly felt the urge to drink the feeling away. She glanced at the waitress who was still offended with her stealing her audience but took down her order before patting off to the counter.

"So, Tia" Kaien asked from the other side of the table, leaning his chin to his palm, "how's the life of a police officer treated you so far?" The woman couldn't help but glance at Yyltfordt and Findorr before answering the question, their creepy smirks were making her skin crawl.

"It's been alright, just got to get used to all the routines and such" she replied, trying to ignore the two obnoxious men muttering to each other and changing meaningful looks between them.

"Oh you'll learn those things quickly, you were the top of your class weren't you?" Iba remarked and topped his words with loud laughter. Tia strained a smile to him and even managed to utter a small laugh.

"Well, being on the field is nothing like being at the Academy" Sentaro noted, waving his beer bottle in the air. Shunsui slowly slid his hand to Tia's thigh under the table, grabbing hold of her hand and squeezing it reassuringly. This calmed her nerves down a bit and enabled her to let their remarks go pass her without noticing. She tuned out their chatting and concentrated on smiling politely and laughing appropriately, grateful to have a cold beer in her hand. She tried to block out the sniggering of the two men on the other side of the table that nagged her consciousness. She couldn't do anything about it here anyway, she'd just have to suck it up and hope that they'd start to recognize her as their colleague, not just a piece of meat with great credentials and big boobs.

The beginning of the night went on uneventfully, the men chatting along about their work and a little about their personal lives. Tia could feel that at first they weren't really relaxed in her company but as the amount of alcohol they downed started to take effect, they slowly started to loosen up and even talk to her without cracking jokes about her gender or credentials. Shunsui still kept an eye on everybody, still enjoying his first beer and having a quiet conversation with Tia whenever he could. Now he too had noticed the looks Yyltford and Findorr were giving her and it made him uneasy. He could see Tia shift in her place whenever one of the men stared at her longer than was appropriate, their sly grins spelling out their thoughts quite clearly. He had looked at Tia for an explanation but the woman had shaken her head slightly, smiling feebly at him.

"Right, would it be time to advance?" Kensei asked the group, his voice slurring slightly from the alcohol. The others cheered at this, raising their glasses and bottles in the air. Findorr rose from his seat and looked around the table, his eyes stopping for a second on Tia but not for so long that others would notice. He quieted them down with a gesture of his hand before speaking.

"All right lads, your cries have been heard and acknowledged. If you care to finish your drinks, we'll head on to our next destination where we have a little surprise waiting for you" he declared, his eerie wide smile not reaching his cold eyes. The guys cheered at this, quickly emptying their glasses and bottles.

Tia looked wary, she wasn't sure about this anymore. Shunsui leaned closer and patted her encouragingly on the shoulder.

"You're doing good, I'll look after you kid" he smiled to her kindly. She smiled back at him and got up from her chair, sighing deeply and grabbed her jacket. Kensei stumbled towards her and wrapped his arm around her shoulders, grinning at her drunkenly.

"Heyyy Tia" he said, his speech slurring from the alcohol. He burped and wiped his mouth on the back of his hand. He ruffled Tia's hair and smacked a wet kiss on her cheek, making the woman's eyes widen.

"You're so pretty" he sighed, his eyes only half- open. Shunsui came to the rescue and gently unwrapped the man off Tia, steering him towards the doors. Tia chuckled and pulled her jacket on, but then felt cold hands clam on her shoulders. She didn't even have to turn to know who it was, she could feel the stench of the man's cheap cologne in her nose.

"Kensei's right, you are looking very pretty tonight" a voice hissed into her ear. Tia felt every muscle in her body tense, it was really hard to resist her kneejerk reaction of elbowing the man in the gut.

"I was surprised to see you here, Tia" other voice said and Tia saw Findorr lounging beside her.

"Get lost creeps" she practically growled at them, her teeth clenched together and her hands balled into tight fists. The men looked at each other and cackled, their menacing grins making shivers run down Tia's spine.

"Hey fellas, you ready to go?" Shunsui hollered at them from the door. The men snapped their hands towards the older man, who managed to lounge against the door frame but still look like he could whoop their asses in a split second. Tia felt the vice grip loosen on her shoulders and the men walked out of the bar, glancing at her menacingly over their shoulders. She shook herself and walked slightly behind the men, stopping next to Shunsui who was frowning at her.

"What was that all about?" Tia looked the man straight in the eyes, for a second considering on telling him what had happened yesterday. But then she bit her tongue, even as a rookie she knew that police don't tattle.

"Nothing, just some drunken chat" she dismissed waving her hand. She was almost sure Shunsui didn't believe her but still said nothing. He just shrugged his shoulders and shut the door behind them.

"Alright then. Let's get going."

* * *

><p>The strip club wasn't that far away from the bar but didn't look that inviting. <em>Then again, when strip clubs do? <em>Tia thought when they entered the shady place, the men already cheering and whistling to the ladies at work. Shunsui tried to shield his eyes and headed straight to the counter, Tia following suit. The women weren't that bad to her mind, she just felt that taking your clothes off for money was so degrading towards women, and men. Though she was perfectly aware that some didn't have the freedom of choice in the matter, living in the city cost money, education cost money. You had to pay the mortgage somehow.

"What do you want to drink?" Shunsui asked her while looking at the menu hanging over the counter. The bartender was a creepy looking tall guy with long black hair and an eye patch. His face seemed to be fixed to a grin that was somehow even creepier than Findorr's or Yyltford's. He winked at Tia with his good eye and licked his lips, his tongue seemed to be exceptionally long. Tia wouldn't have been surprised if it had been parted like a snake's.

"Just beer, please" she said, turning away from the creepy bartender and looked at the central stage. Currently it was manned by a dark-skinned woman with long purple hair and cat's ears on her head. She was spinning wildly around the pole wearing nothing but a leopard print bikini. The guys were throwing their money at her and howling like mad dogs on heat. Tia couldn't really blame them, the girl was hot. She finally stopped her spinning and gracefully landed on the stage, her legs bent around the pole. She started crawling towards Kensei who was sitting in the front row and tossed her legs over the stage's edge. She leaned forwards to Kensei and then quickly undid her bikini top, so the man was staring right at her large breasts. Even from the counter Tia could see she had a nipple piercing. The men were of course ecstatic, stuffing money at the girl's cleavage like there was no tomorrow. She pecked a quick kiss on Kensei's cheek and then slid off the stage, grabbing her tips with her and patting to the counter, not bothering to cover herself up. She walked beside Tia, hopped onto a stool and snapped her fingers at the bartender. She turned her head to look at Tia and eyed her from head to toe, then winked at her. The blonde police officer just hemmed and smiled at her while taking a swig of her beer.

"We don't usually get ladies in here" the stripper said in a chatty tone, "except on the other side of course."

"I figured as much" Tia replied. Shunsui was looking at the two women from the corner of his eye, trying to make himself invisible. The stripper stretched her neck to look over Tia and waved her hand at the man.

"Hiya Shunsui" she smirked at him. The man waved his hand awkwardly to the laughing naked woman and then concentrated on his drink again. Tia frowned but didn't bother asking where the two knew each other. Knowing Shunsui it was a really long story. Suddenly the whole club darkened and a single spotlight shone to the end of the stage. The thumping music changed into a more rocking tune with swaying rhythm and heavy bass. The spotlight slowly moved to the back of the club where the wall was covered with heavy satin drapes. A small hand appeared from between the drapes and pushed them aside. A young woman with long sea green hair, big grey eyes and a gorgeous body stepped into the spotlight, wearing only a golden string bikini that glistened in the light. Her full hips were swaying gently to the beat as she walked across the stage to the pole, her hands running through her wavy hair and caressing her voluptuous body. The men had gone quiet, as if mesmerized by her beauty.

"Neliel's got her groove on tonight" Tia heard the stripper beside her say. She noticed the woman was staring at her from the corner of her eye, grinning like Cheshire cat.

"Enjoy the show, sister" she added, patted Tia on the shoulder and slid of the bar stool, disappearing into the shadows of the club. Tia moved her eyes back to the stage, where the stripper apparently called Neliel was circling the pole, her moves getting more provocative. She slowly descended towards the floor, shaking her round ass in the men's faces almost. Their eyes were size of tea plates, jaw hanging ajar as they watched the woman writhe on stage. She gripped the pole with both hands and pulled herself up, arching her back so her hair cascaded down, brushing against the men's faces. She wrapped one leg around the pole and swung herself around it, a little smile playing on her full lips. Tia couldn't tell for sure from that far but she could almost swear that the woman looked straight at her from under her fringe.

Neliel continued her dance on the pole, wrapping both of her long legs around it and starting to pull herself up on her arms. The men had broken their spell and were now hooting and cheering her on as she almost touched the roof. She locked her legs tightly around the pole and let her hands go, arching her back and slowly bending her whole body so she was hanging upside down on her legs. She spun herself gently around a few times before raising herself up again and sliding down to the ground. Tia was slightly impressed by the girl's strength and body control, she wouldn't have thought that taking your clothes off demanded any special talents other than those genetically given to you. She sighed and turned her back to the stage, watching probably the most beautiful woman she had even seen writhing practically naked in front of her colleagues wasn't her idea of a good time. Shunsui was drinking his second whiskey, glancing at Tia every now and then. She was biting her lower lip and looking back at the stage over her shoulder, then sighing again and shaking her head. She downed her beer in one go and slid it across the counter to the bartender.

"Gin and tonic please" she ordered, tapping her fingers against the wooden surface of the counter. The man obliged and brushed his fingers over hers as he gave her the drink. The man's touch felt cold and Tia quickly drew her hand back, turning to face Shunsui who was awfully quiet.

"Do you wanna leave?" she asked him, tasting her drink that was exceptionally strong. She grimaced at the taste of burning alcohol in her throat and soon the warm feeling started to spread in her stomach.

"No I'm alright" the man replied, drawing himself up and conjuring his trademark sly smile on his face. He turned around to look at the stage and raised his eyebrows.

"She's quite good" he remarked, pointing at the stripped currently wrapped around the pole. Tia peered at the said woman again over her shoulder and had to stifle a sigh that the sight aroused in her. Shunsui noticed his friend's pained expression and his smile widened into a grin.

"Guess we've found your type" he chuckled and almost dodged the smack Tia instinctively gave him on the back of his head.

"Shut up old fag" she huffed out and emptied her glass, her knuckles white as she squeezed the glass in her hand. Shunsui laughed the insult off and gestured towards the stage with his hand. Tia's whole body stiffened as she soon heard the clicking of high heels on the wooden floor coming behind her and felt the scent of some oversweet perfume in her nose. She felt strands of soft hair brush against her arm as small, delicate hands landed on the counter beside her and propped a lithe, almost naked body on the counter in front of her. She raised her icy blue eyes to meet the woman's grey ones that were looking at her under her mass of green wavy hair, a wry smile on her perfect lips.

"Hey" she breathed out, leaning on her side on the counter, "I'm Nel."


	2. Chapter 2

**And the story continues, as some of you hoped it would. Let me know if it's any good.**

**Chapter 2. **_**The mood you pull me in**_

Tia swallowed as she stared into the stripper's deep grey eyes. She tried hard not to glance at her colleagues over her shoulder, she could feel their eyes on them both.

"Would you like a dance?" Neliel asked her, reaching her small hand out to touch Tia's face. She looked back at the men sitting by the stage, their hungry eyes roaming over her perfect body.

"Your friends can watch, if they want to" she added smilingly, flicking the mass of hair over her shoulder. Tia could smell her sweet perfume again, it made her nose itch. She slowly raised her hand to grip the woman by the wrist and gently pulled her hand off her face.

"Thanks but no" she said, avoiding the stripper's enticing eyes. Shunsui shuffled himself closer to the women and draped his arm across Tia's shoulders.

"Oh come now, Tia, let loose for once."

"Oh, so you're Tia?" Nel asked, her smile widening into a sweet grin, "Shunsui's always talking about you." The blonde woman pushed herself back from the counter and away from Neliel, her hand nervously running through her thick hair.

"I'm sorry I…I need to go." With that, she rushed out of the bar, almost knocking a chair over as she ran out. Neliel was left sitting on the counter, staring at Tia's back as she disappeared through the doors. She twirled a strand of her wavy hair between her fingers and pouted her lips disappointedly. She turned to look at Shunsui who was leaning his elbow on the counter, shaking his head lightly as he lit a cigar.

"She seemed nice" the woman said, trying to sound positive. The man beside her chuckled lowly and puffed out a cloud of smoke, offering his cigar to the woman. Neliel shook her head and leaned back, gesturing to the bartender who offered her a cigarette and lit it. She inhaled the bitter smoke into her lungs and stifled a cough that rose to her throat. The men at the stage were now getting anxious, waving their hands and yelling her to come back. She waved her hand idly back at them and quickly had few more smokes from her cigarette before stumping it and jumped down from the counter. She sighed and patted Shunsui on the shoulder before strutting back to the stage, her hands caressing the men's head and necks as she walked past them. When she got to Kensei, she sat on his lap, wrapping her arms around his shoulders. Shunsui turned his back at them as Neliel started her lap dance for the birthday boy and concentrated back to his whiskey. He swirled the glass in his hand and smoked his cheap cigar, occasionally throwing glances at the door. After about ten minutes he finally believed that Tia wasn't coming back. With a deep sigh he reached his hand to grab his wallet and placed a sketchy amount of bills on the counter, then walked out of the club into the misty rain.

Tia was making her way back to her apartment. She wasn't paying any attention to her surroundings, she just believed that the weather would keep most thugs at bay. Her hair was sticking to her face, raindrops were running down her collar. She didn't really notice or care, she was too busy with trying to rid her mind of thoughts about the most perfect woman she had ever seen. She was glad it was raining, the water would probably rinse out the smell of her perfume. Her face felt so hot she was surprised the raindrops weren't sizzling as they hit her face. She took a turn from a corner, burying her head deeper behind the collars of her jacket. Her long strides were splashing water around her feet, soaking her shoes and socks. Suddenly she heard running steps coming up behind her and her muscles tensed, her right hand automatically slipping inside her jacket to reach for her gun.

"Tia, wait!" Hearing Shunsui's familiar voice she sighed and turned around to see the older officer running towards her. He slowed his pace down when he got closer, his breath heaving slightly as he lounged to her side.

"Jesus you walk fast" he panted, pressing his hand to his chest.

"You should stop smoking" the woman remarked and continued walking.

"Are you mad at me, Tia?" Shunsui asked after walking beside her in silence for a while. The woman shrugged, the movement made paths of water drain down her jacket.

"I didn't mean to upset you."

"It's okay Shunsui, just let it go."

"Alright, alright…Just trying to make conversation." The next few minutes went by in silence, until Tia spoke again.

"You knew that wouldn't end well so why did you do it?"

"Well you obviously liked her so what's the harm?" Shunsui asked back, trying to somehow pull his coat over his head to protect himself from the rain.

"Firstly, she's a stripper" Tia started.

"What's so bad about that?"

"I'm a police officer, I can't be associated with people like her!"

"Oh c'mon Tia, I'd never guess you'd be so narrow minded" the man grinned from the corner of his mouth, finally giving up of trying to stay dry and let his coat fell back to his shoulders.

"I'm not, I just don't want to make things more difficult for myself than they already are."

Silence fell upon them again. Shunsui felt how the water slowly drenched his long hair and made its way to his neck, gradually running down his back and made him shiver.

"Bloody cold in here" he muttered as he tried to wrap his coat tighter around his body. Tia didn't say anything, she still didn't seem to notice that she was already soaked. Her jeans stuck to her thighs and the front of her top was clinging to her skin. She was mentally cursing the man beside him, and her own stupidity. Why would she ever think that going out to a strip club with her male colleagues would be a good idea? She sighed and thanked her lucky stars that she had the day-off tomorrow. And after that night shift with Ganju, that wouldn't be so bad.

They arrived at Tia's apartment and she started to fumble her pockets for the keys. She looked at Shunsui over her shoulder, the man looked miserable with his soaked hair and wet clothes. He was trying to light a cigar under his hands but failed miserably. The matches sizzled as they went out and soon the whole cigar was soaked through. Shunsui sighed and threw both items into a near trash can.

"Do you wanna crash on my couch?" The man shook his head and wiped his face with his hand to rid it off most rainwater.

"No, I'll head home. Besides, my car's still at the bar." Tia frowned.

"You can't drive, how many whiskeys you've had?" Shunsui rolled his eyes towards the sky as if counting his drinks of that drink.

"I dunno, four, five? It's nothing for me, really."

"You're a police officer, you can't drive while you're drunk."

"Eeh, maybe you're right. I'll just walk home."

"Don't you have anyone to call to pick you up?"

Shunsui opened his mouth to answer but then snapped it shut, looking at Tia from under his brow.

"Actually I do" he said slowly, "but…"

"That's settled then, come up to dry off while your ride gets here." Shunsui cocked an eyebrow to Tia but followed her inside the building.

"I thought you were still mad at me."

"Common courtesy, that's all. Plus you're still my boss so…"

"Oh, so you're inviting me in as your boss, not as your friend?" The woman glanced at him over her shoulder as they walked up the stairs.

"Bit of both." Shunsui pouted his lips to her but she didn't notice.

"Aren't you going to call your friend to pick you up?" The man flinched and reached into his pockets for his phone. He raised the phone to his ear and waited for someone to pick up from the other end.

"Yeah, hi it's me. Erm, could you come and pick me up?" Tia could hear a man's voice answering to Shunsui, it didn't sound angry at all. More like amused. She could swear she heard him laughing.

"Well it's raining and I've had a few…I would've walked but this amazon won't let me" Shunsui said to the phone and smirked at Tia.

"Yeah, I'm at her place, she insisted. Yeah, at the dodgy end, do you know it? Okay, call me when you get here, bye." The man hung up the phone and slid it back to his pocket. They were already at Tia's door. She let them in and immediately peeled off her wet jacket and hung it on the coat rack, then walked to her own room, pulling her shirt off as she walked.

"I'll get you a towel, just hang on a second" she said to Shunsui as she disappeared into her room. The man stood at the door, water dripping from his clothes and hair on the floor. He heard the rustling of clothes as Tia stripped from her soaked garments. She soon walked back out, wearing only her underwear and holding a fresh towel in her hand. She threw it to Shunsui and walked to her small kitchen.

"Do you want something to eat?"

"No, I'm fine" the man answered while trying to dry his long hair.

"Take your coat off, you'll catch cold or something."

"I'm fine, my ride will be here any minute."

"Don't be so stubborn" Tia said as she walked back from the kitchen, holding two cups of steaming hot liquid. She offered the other one to Shunsui.

"It's just tea, drink it. It'll keep your warm better than whiskey" she said with a small smile. The man took the drink and muttered his thanks. It tasted sweet, but not too much. Tia walked back to her room and gestured towards the couch with her hand.

"At least take a seat, I feel bad seeing you stand in the doorway." Shunsui walked slowly to the couch, draping the towel on his shoulders. He sat down on the edge of the couch, trying not to drench any of the furniture. Tia walked back from her room, a towel tied around her head and loose t-shirt covering her curves. She was sipping her tea slowly as she walked to the couch and sat next to Shunsui.

"Who's coming to pick you up?" she asked. The man smiled shyly and lowered his head. Tia smiled instantly and nudged the man in the ribs.

"It's your boyfriend, isn't it?"

"Just a friend" Shunsui corrected but his smile gave his game away. Tia didn't push it any further but settled to just nod.

"Riiight…" she smirked to the man who glared at her behind his wet mane. His phone rang and he quickly answered it, trying to keep the smile off his face.

"Hi, you're already here? I'll come down…" Shunsui was cut short as Tia snatched to phone to herself and pressed her leg against Shunsui's stomach to keep him at bay while she spoke to the phone.

"Hi, this is Tia, who am I speaking to? Jyushiro? Nice to talk to you Jyushiro, I don't know if you've heard about me but I work with Shunsui at the force. Yes, the new girl, you're a correct" she laughed and pushed Shunsui gently away with her foot as the man tried to grab the phone back.

"Are you at the street? You can come up if you like, I'll buzz you in. I just made tea. Alright, I'll go and let you in, okay bye." Tia hung up the phone and threw it back to Shunsui.

"He's coming up to get you" she smiled as she rose from the couch and ran to the door to press the buzzer.

"Why'd you do that for?" the man groaned and pressed his face against his forehead.

"The same reason you invited Nel to give me a lap dance, you idiot."

"Alright, alright, guess we're even then."

"Unless he starts to strip in my living room then no." Shunsui groaned as he got up from the couch and walked to the front room, leaning his shoulder on the wall and took a sip of his tea. They waited for few minutes until there was a light knock on the door. Tia quickly swung the door open, revealing a pale man in his thirties standing behind it. He had long white hair that was hanging on a loose ponytail on his shoulder and he was wearing a dark blue cardigan and green velvety trousers. Tia made a mental note of the men's seeming affection towards velvet. Jyushiro smiled kindly to Tia as he stepped in and offered her his hand.

"Hello Tia, I'm Jyushiro Ukitake" he introduced himself. His voice was soft and gentle and his eyes were kind. Tia felt immediately at ease in the man's presence and she could understand why Shunsui liked him.

"Hi Jyushiro, the pleasure's all mine" she answered as she shook the man's hand. His hold was firm but somehow light, as if he merely brushed his hand against hers.

"Hello Shunsui" Jyushiro said to the man standing behind Tia, drinking his tea. He eyed his friend from head to toe and hemmed to his appearance.

"You should've taken an umbrella with you like I told you" he smiled and walked to the man, brushing gently a strand of hair off his face. Tia could see how Shunsui froze as the man touched him and noticed how his hands rolled into fists, as if he tried to prevent himself from grabbing hold of the man. She smiled at the sight, they looked so sweet together. Jyushiro turned to look at the woman, a wider smile on his face.

"Thank you for taking care of him, he can be really stubborn sometimes" he thanked her. He then patted Shunsui on his shoulder and nodded towards the door.

"But we must get going, it's getting late already."

"Do you guys live together?" Tia asked shamelessly, "it must be really great to have company." Jyushiro laughed and wrapped his arm around Shunsui's shoulders.

"No, he just lives on my block. We used to go to school together years ago and then when I moved here, I found out that he's my neighbor. What a coincidence!" Shunsui was looking at his friend and smiling, his eyes shone as he looked at the man next to him. _I wonder if he has any idea how obvious he's being…Or if Jyushiro just has a really bad gaydar._

"Well it was nice seeing you Jyushiro" she said, "I hope I'll see you again sometime."

"Oh you must come by my bar, it's pretty close to the force actually. I'd like to meet some of Shunsui's co-workers, he never brings anyone over." Jyushiro pouted his lips at the man and Tia almost laughed out loud at his expression.

"I must come by some day" she promised, earning another beaming smile from the pale man and a quick hug before he walked out of the door, Shunsui following suit. Before closing the door behind them, he turned to scowl at Tia and shook his head, mouthing the words "stay out of this". The woman just laughed and patted him on the cheek.

"See you on Monday, chief, good night."

After the man had gone, Tia made herself a sandwich and ate it in the kitchen, leaning on the counter and staring at the wallpaper. Her eyes were glassy as the images of the tanned woman writhing on the pole kept popping into her head. She sighed and shook her head, pressing face into her hands.

"Hopeless." But despite her attempts to block out the thoughts of the stripper, she could feel warmth pooling down to her groin from the sheer mental image.

"Goddamnit Tia, you really have to make everything hard for yourself" she muttered as she slowly lowered her hands from her face, running them along her sides, brushing gently at her breasts. She moaned softly at her own touch as she walked to her bedroom, her hands traveling under her loose shirt and dipping inside her panties. She crawled onto her bed and slid between the covers, already pushing aside her underwear for better access. As her hands caressed her sex, already wet from her dirty thoughts, she bit her lip to stop her moans turning into louder noises of pleasure. Now all she could think of was the stripper girl, her curve of her hips and breasts, her long wavy hair and her beautiful face. She imagined the girl's lips against hers, how her skin would taste, how it would feel under her hands and what sounds she would make if Tia could touch her. As she came, the image of Neliel stuck to her brain. She didn't even bother scolding herself over it, she knew it wouldn't do any good. She would never see the girl again anyway.

* * *

><p>In the strip club's backroom Neliel was washing off her make-up. The heavy eye make-up got to go, along with the foundation she caked on her face to keep it from shining during her performances. Her hair was sticky with hairspray and glitter, little sparkly petals falling to the floor and table with her every move. Once she got home, she'd have a long bath to wash away the body glitter and the smell of her perfume. And the sweat, of course. She looked at her face in the mirror, sighing as she wiped off her black eyeliner. She liked her reflection better without the heavy slap, her skin glowed naturally and her eyes didn't look so unnaturally huge. She was blessed with long, thick black eyelashes so she didn't really need mascara, but used fake eyelashes while she performed. Tonight she had opted for extralong ones that had small fake jewels in them. Personally she thought she looked more like a transvestite in all her stage gear but as long as Nnoitra- sama was happy, guess she couldn't complain. The job paid well, and was relatively easy. Nel liked dancing on the pole, it was the audience she had problems with. Some of the men were nice, older men who just wanted to admire her from afar and maybe chat a bit.<p>

But the majority of them were men like Nnoitra- sama, sexist pigs who didn't bother to cover up the way they eyed her body licking their lips and didn't waste a chance to grab her. They teased her by waving their money in front of her face, then snatching it away and tugging them into their pants or inside their shirts, daring her to grab it herself. Neliel usually just stayed away and relied on the fact that she got enough tips without having to lower herself even more. But the lapdances were the worst. Well, not all the time. Some of the customers were young shy boys who just stared at her body as she writhed on their laps, not daring to touch her. But then again, there were many of those who saw their right to jump on her as soon as she sat on their lap. The customers didn't have the right to touch her but few of them cared, and there was little she could do about it. She had gotten pretty good at ignoring the feel of their clammy hands on her and thought about the warm bath that waited her at home, or what she would cook for dinner the next day. It helped, a little.

She was finally done with her removing her makeup and tied her hair into a ponytail on the back of her head, similar to Yoruichi's. She was wearing a loose hoodie and yoga pants, and she had switched her stiletto heels into comfy trainers. She got up from her dressing table and grabbed her bag, turning to the backdoor to leave. Before she could walk out, she heard the other door open behind her and cursed mentally.

"Leaving already?" The voice sent shivers down Neliel's spine and she had to force herself to stay calm as she turned around to look at the speaker. Nnoitra, the bartender and owner of the club, was leaning on the doorframe, his usual predatory grin on his face.

"What do you want, Nnoitra-sama" she asked tiredly. She didn't want to deal with the man right now, she was tired and her muscles ached. The low cackle rumbled in the man's chest as he stepped closer, closing the distance between them with just few of his long steps. He reached his hand to touch Nel's face, then grabbed her ponytail and yanked her head back. The girl squealed from pain and grabbed the man's arm, trying to wrench it off.

"Don't use that tone with me, missy. You and I have some unsettled business before you leave." Neliel sighed inwardly, she really didn't have time for this.

"Let go off me, you monster" she said sternly, her voice had a sudden edge to it that should've acted as a warning to the man. He didn't get the message. As he leaned down to touch her, Nel's knee swung up to the man's groin with a muted thud and she felt grim satisfaction seeing the man's jaw drop and eyes bulge. His grip on her hair loosened as is knees budged under him and he staggered few steps back, his hand pressing to his assaulted area.

"You fuckin' bitch" he hissed between his clenched teeth and muffled a pained moan. Neliel swung her bag over her shoulder and walked past the man to the door.

"See you on Monday, perv" she said as she walked out, leaving the door open behind her. Nnoitra fell to his knees once she had gone, rocking back and forth as the pain sent searing waves of agony through his body.

Nel stepped out to the fresh morning air, the sky was now clear and the pure scent of rain lingered in the air. She inhaled the almost crispy air into her lungs as she walked to her bicycle, opened the lock and jumped on it, starting to cycle home. After some speed she let go of the handles and leaned back, pulling her mp3-player out of her pocket and put the earphones on, cheery indiepop starting to blast into her ears. She shoved her hands into the pockets of her hoodie and lazily cycled on, humming along with the song. There was almost no one else around, the city was just slowly just waking up and preparing itself to the weekend. Neliel had the whole weekend free and she was going to enjoy it to the fullest. The next few days would be filled with bubble baths, good food, laying on the couch and watching crap TV. _Paradise, _she smiled to herself as she rolled downhill. A lonely car passed her and honked, some young guys hanging out from the back window whistling to her. She glanced at them and laughed, they were clearly underaged. She waved her hand to them and turned from the next corner to her own street. She carried her bicycle to the small basement that was used as a storage and locked it, then made her way up the stairs to her own small flat. She tried to be quiet so she wouldn't wake up her neighbours, who were still fast asleep. It was only four AM and most of them worked long days so she didn't want to disturb them at this time of the night.

Her door opened with a small creak as she slipped inside, pushing it gently shut. She dropped her bag to the floor and kicked off her shoes, then walked inside while doing stretches. She walked straight to the bathroom and opened the taps, steamy water started to pour into the tub while she stripped off her clothes. Next thirty minutes she spent lying in the tub, scrubbing her body clean of glitter and sweat and washing her long locks. When the water started to cool down, she got off and put on her bathrobe, wrapping her wet hair into a towel. She patted to her kitchen to make some early breakfast, her stomach had been rumbling for the past two hours. She didn't usually eat much before work, she didn't want her stomach to be bloated while she strut around in her tiny bikini, so she was starving by the time she got home. She had been shopping yesterday, filling her fridge with all kinds of tasty things for her free weekend. But now she didn't have the patience to cook much so she just made some coffee and sandwiches. She wasn't going to sleep now, she would take a nap during the day and try to get her natural rhythm back. During the week she slept all day to be lively all night, and after the bike ride home she wasn't feeling that tired anymore. Plus the adrenalin she had got from kicking her boss in the nuts helped too. _I've got to get a better job, _she sighed to herself while sipping her coffee. _Maybe I should apply to the Police Academy, like that blonde girl from before…_Nel felt a smile creep to her face when she thought about the girl. _Or a woman I should say, she seemed so mature, serious and all grown-up…Though she can't be much older than me, I think…How many years does it take to graduate from the Academy? _

For some reason she felt butterflies in her stomach as she pictured the woman in her head. Her messy blond hair, perfect skin and those blue eyes…Nel hid her smile behind her hands and stared at her toes, she hadn't felt like this in years. She was glad that she was so emotionally unattached during her performances, otherwise she would've probably gone all gooey when she had talked to the police woman. She tried to remember all the things Shunsui had told her about the woman. _Her name is Tia Ha..Harribel? Something like that…she's just came to town and started working at the force, and apparently she's lesbian…But single. And she's smart and a good police officer. That's about it. _Neliel sighed as she leaned back on the kitchen counter. She liked men and women equally, but hadn't even really been with a woman, except when Nnoitra made her perform with Yoruichi in some special events. She wouldn't mind it otherwise but the drooling men around them kinda ruined the mood. Luckily Yoruichi was so laidback and open to everything she made her almost forget they were being watched. It made things get more and more heated, which only meant more money so in a way it wasn't such a bad thing after all. Some nights they had continued their show in private. Neliel felt a small blush on her face as she reminisced those nights. Some lucky lady would make a good girlfriend out of Yoruichi someday, when she had calmed down a little. She was bit of exhibitionist that girl.

_But Tia…She's different. _The blonde made her stomach turn and face heat up when she thought of her, her toes curled and palms started to sweat. In a way she was glad she had declined the lap dance, she would've been too embarrassed to ever see her again after that. Neliel hemmed as she thought about seeing the woman again. _Even if she's a lesbian why would she wanna be with someone like me? _she though and emptied her coffee mug, _a police and a stripper, what a classic. If my life was a corny romcom that just might work out, but not in real life. She looked almost disgusted when I talked to her, she couldn't get away from me fast enough. _Nel sighed and nibbled on her sandwich. _Well, I guess a girl can always dream, can't she? _She finished her early breakfast and rolled off the towel from her head, letting her still wet hair drop down to her shoulders, raking her fingers through it. The sunlight was sliding across the floors, warming the floorboards. Neliel walked to the window and sat on the windowsill, looking across the roofs of the town, lost in thoughts of blonde hair and blue eyes.


	3. Chapter 3

**And a new chapter, sorry it took so long. I'm actually enjoying writing all about women now since I usually just write about malepairings (the male-female ratio is to blame I say). Let me know what you guys think.**

**Chapter 3. **_**Tell me your favourite things**_

The air was crisp on the Sunday morning as Tia stepped out of her apartment, zipping her hoodie and limbering up before her run. It had finally stopped raining for a moment so she figured she might as well do her exercise now and maybe get a fresh cup of coffee on the way back. She started jogging at a relaxed pace, her steps rolling easily along the pavement. Indie rock was playing in her earphones, the carefree guitar sounds giving her movement the right rhythm and fit perfectly to the clear morning weather. The pavement was bit slick from wet leaves and the mist but Tia kept her balance with ease, jumping over bigger puddles. As she made her way to the nearest park, there were some old people sitting on park benches, feeding the birds and enjoying the morning sun. She nodded a greeting to them as she ran past, her pace had now settled into a natural rhythm so that she didn't even have to think about it, she felt like she could go on for hours. She let her thoughts wander, running had always been her way of relaxing and the time to solve all her problems. But this time all her work issues seemed to be on the background of her mind as she could only think of a one thing, or one person to be exact.

Tia cursed to herself but couldn't deny it. She hadn't been able to shake Neliel off her head since Friday night. She could swear she could still smell her perfume on her clothes that she had worn that night at the club and had had to put them into the washer. She felt paranoid and ridiculous but that's how it was. She was planning on drowning herself to work the following week, just to keep her mind busy. With any luck she would be so exhausted in the evenings she would just fall into bed and have no time to think about anything else but work. _That's a healthy way to solve your problems_ she noted as she ran out of the park and headed for the old part of the town, they had the best cafes. _But at least I'm not drowning my sorrows in booze like some people. _

She thought of her old friend who had spiraled into a serious drug addiction, starting from alcohol and then when it hadn't been enough, hard drugs. Last time she had seen him he'd been in such a state he hadn't even recognized her. It had hurt, she tried not to think about. She was just afraid that one day he'd be brought to the force, or worse, straight to the mortuary. Tia increased her pace to silence her thoughts and ran until she came to a small café and slowed down. She leaned her hands to her knees while catching her breath before entering the café, wiping off a trickle of sweat from her forehead. There were only few other people inside, it was still quite early for a Sunday. Tia walked to the counter and ordered a iced latte, fishing out some coins from her pocket. As she was paying, she heard an oddly familiar voice calling her name.

"Tia? Hey Tia, over here!" Without thinking she turned to see who could possibly be here and her heart skipped a beat. Neliel was sitting in a table by the window, waving at her with a big smile on her face.

Despite the fact that this time she was actually wearing some clothes and no make-up, her vividly green hair was dead give- away. Plus Tia had been haunted the whole weekend by the image of her body stretched across the bar counter with nothing but her golden bikini on. _Too late to run away now, _she thought as her feet seemed to walk her over to the girl on their own accord. Neliel was drinking a hot chocolate and she had a newspaper spread out in front of her on the table. She quickly folded it away as Tia sat down opposite her. Only then the blonde realized she could've just said hello and then make up an excuse to leave instead of sitting down. _Stupid idiot._

"Fancy seeing you here" Neliel said smilingly, wrapping her fingers around the cup of hot chocolate. Tia took a sip of her own drink and nodded.

"Come here often?", the girl asked, already feeling the strain of trying to keep up the conversation. Seeing Tia here had been a pleasant surprise but now she felt as if the woman was itching to get out. _Should've known, why would she ever want to talk to me, _Neliel sighed to herself, _she's a police officer and I'm just…_

"This is actually one of my favourite places" the blonde said, lowering her drink on the table, a small smile on her lips, "they have good coffee." Neliel perked up, maybe there was hope for her after all.

"Oh yeah, and they make awesome cupcakes too" she said, glancing at the remains of the treat she had already finished, only few crumbs were left on the plate.

She eyed Tia's attire and couldn't help but to notice how her physique was clearly visible in her training clothes. Even the oversized hoodie couldn't hide her large breasts completely. Neliel had to try and focus on the woman's face, which looked even more beautiful than she had remembered, she felt jealous how someone could look so fresh right after a run. The small trickles of sweat made strands of blond hair stuck to Tia's forehead and her cheeks were flushed but it all just added into her natural beauty.

"Have you been running?" she asked though she felt it was a bit dumb to state out the obvious. For some reason she was desperate to get to know this woman better, as remote as the possibility might be.

"Yeah" Tia nodded and Neliel didn't know who she wanted to smack more, herself or the blonde. She knew the woman wasn't the most sociable type but at least throw me a bone here!

"I like running when there's not a lot people around, it's quieter" she continued, making Neliel almost audibly breathe out of relief. The blonde raised her eyes to look at the woman and had to stop herself from staring too intently at her. The morning sun that shone through the window played with the colour of her hair, making it shine like a halo around her head. She looked an angel. _A_ _very sexy angel, _Tia thought and almost kicked herself under the table. ¨

"Shunsui told me you just moved in to town" Neliel said, proud that she was able to remember to bit of information the man had told her earlier when he had been talking about the new recruit.

"Yeah, well it's been few months now" the blonde said, twirling her drink in her hand, "I haven't really gotten to know the place, work's been quite busy lately…"

"If you want I could show you around" Neliel offered and almost immediately regretted it, seeing the odd look Tia gave her. The woman tilted her head to one side and narrowed her eyes.

"Has Shunsui put you up to this?" she asked suspiciously. Neliel was quick to flail her hand in front of her and shook her head.

"No no no, I just thought that…maybe you'd want to go out with some people who weren't your colleagues" she tried to explain. She then sighed and pressed her chin into her hands.

"All I know is that Shunsui told me that you haven't really been getting on with all the men in the force, and I get that, I've met loads of them. Some are cool, others not so much." Tia nodded, she could testify to that.

"I know that this is weird" Neliel continued, gesturing between herself and Tia, "but I've been wanting to meet you for some time now, Shunsui speaks so nicely of you. The fact you saw me at work was…a bit of a surprise, I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable." Neliel sighed and dropped her head, staring down at her empty cup of hot chocolate. _Maybe this was all a mistake, I should've just ignored her…It's too weird, too uncomfortable, she's such a private person, I'm just making things worse. _

"No, it's okay" Tia said, making the other woman snap her head up. She flashed her a small smile and hemmed.

"I haven't really made any friends as of yet, besides Shunsui, and I'm always at work so…" she shrugged and emptied her drink. She leaned back on her chair, stretching her hands above her head. Neliel was smiling again, her whole face lit up when she did so. Tia wanted to reach out and touch her hair, it looked so soft. _She said she just wants to be friends, don't imagine anything else. _

"And I don't care about your work, it's your own business what you do" the blonde said and folded her arms on the table, drawing circles on its surface. She glanced at the folded up newspaper and pointed at it.

"Were you reading that?" Neliel uttered a laugh and poked the newspaper, shaking her head.

"Looking at job offers, actually" she sighed and glanced at the other woman, "pretty pathetic, isn't it?" Tia chuckled lowly, making Neliel frown at the foreign sound. Her laugh was soft and warm, and she decided she wanted to hear it again.

"No, there's nothing pathetic about finding a new job." Tia took a good look of Neliel, making her shift in her seat. You could tell she was a police officer, the serious look and eyes that seemed to see straight to you.

"Why are you even working in that place?" she asked. She was surprised by her own courage, usually she avoided personal topics when talking with people. And yet for some reason she had told Neliel more in these few minutes than she had to Shunsui during the past few months. She didn't even know why but somehow she felt so at ease with her, as if she had known the girl her whole life. Neliel sighed and shrugged her shoulders, forcing out a small laugh.

"I'm actually trying to gather enough money to get into a business college" she said shyly, fiddling her hands on her lap.

"I know it's a cliché but I don't have a family to support me and this is the only way that could possible earn me enough money before I'm too old to study anything anymore…" Her voice trailed off as she slowly raised her eyes to look at Tia for her reaction. To her surprise she wasn't laughing but really looked like she cared.

"Mm, college costs a lot of money" the blonde said, "couldn't you apply for a scholarship?"

"I've tried, but there are so hard to get, and I didn't really do that good at school that I'd have any chance of getting one anyway. So, I take off my clothes for money instead" she tried to joke, "see, it's kinda pathetic?" Tia shook her head again and hesitantly reached her hand over the table to grab hold of Neliel hand.

"Don't say that, you're very brave for what you're doing" she said, feeling like a walking cliché, "not many people would even bother trying." She drew her hand back, feeling embarrassed for butting into other people's business. Judging by the way Neliel was staring at her it had been a mistake.

"I'm sorry, it's none of my business really" she muttered and rose to leave, "I'd better go…"

"No!" Neliel quickly rose from her chair and then bit her lip, her outburst had earned little too much attention in the café.

"You don't have to go" she now whispered almost, Tia had to strain her hearing to catch what she was saying, "it's okay, I don't mind, really… It's actually nice to talk with someone, normal, I guess." Tia gave her a cockeyed smile as she sat down.

"I appreciate you calling me normal" she said and stretched her legs. Neliel raised an eyebrow to her and let a small smirk spread to her face.

"Why so?" she asked, then leaned closer, "you have some dirty secrets?" The blonde locked eyes with the woman and again had to resist the urge to lean in and capture those lips with her own.

"Maybe" she replied, glancing out from the window. More people were starting to appear in the streets, the sun was already high in the sky. Neliel was racking her brain to think up an excuse to see the woman again, or even just prolong this meeting few more minutes.

"Are you in a hurry?" she tried to sound nonchalant. Tia shrugged and tilted her head to one side again.

"Are you?"

"I just thought you might wanna see the market, it's just a few blocks away" the woman continued, "it's nothing much but if you haven't really seen the town it could be nice." If it had been someone else Tia would've probably declined but seeing the pleading look on Neliel's eyes she just nodded, earning a wide smile from the girl.

"Great, I need to buy some vegetables" she said, rising from the table and grabbing the newspaper with her, "it has kind of rural charm, if you're into such stuff."

"Sounds good" Tia said and the corners of her mouth curled up as she walked out of the café beside Neliel. She only faintly remembered her promise to stop thinking about the woman as Neliel continued chattering about the market and telling her about the sights that were in the old part of town, she had lived there her whole life so she was kind of an expert. Or at least she knew more than Tia did, which didn't really say much. They toured around the market and visited the statue of a famous actress that was born in there, the only celebrity ever to have come from the small town.

Tia let Neliel do most of the talking, she enjoyed listening the girl's light voice that had a certain sing-song quality to it, her expressive mannerism made her smile and even laugh. She felt warm when Neliel looked at her with those huge grey eyes of hers that betrayed every feeling she had and at the same time seemed to read her like an open book, Tia felt like she didn't need to say anything to her and she would understand. They strolled away from the old town, slowly making their way to the suburbs where Neliel lived. Tia felt relieved seeing that she lived in a relatively peaceful neighbourhood, her inner police officer was always on the lookout for things like that.

"So, this is me" Neliel said as they got to her step. She was holding a bag of fresh vegetables in her arms, Tia had offered to carry them for her but she had refused the offer, though with a small blush on her cheeks.

"Do you want to come in for some tea?" Tia thought about the offer but something in the back of her mind nagged that she shouldn't get too comfortable around the girl. So she shook her head.

"Sorry, I gotta get home already."

"Oh, okay" Neliel said, her expression falling. Tia felt instantly bad for that and wanted to make it up.

"Are you free next weekend?" she asked tentatively, "It's just you said we could go out with your friends..."

"Oh, yeah, sure!" the girl exclaimed and smiled again, "They'd love you, I'm sure. We could go on Friday, if that's okay?" Tia thought about the date and nodded, she should have the day off.

"Great, could I have your number so I can call you or something?" The blonde patted her pockets but she hadn't brought her phone with her.

"It's okay, if you can remember it I'll just give a call later and we can make out when will go out, if that's okay with you?"

"Yeah, sure" Tia said and recited her number to Neliel who listed it on her phone. She flashed the blonde a last smile before hesitantly opening the door to the apartment block.

"Okay I'll guess I'll see you on the weekend then?" she said, ensuring that Tia had meant what she said. The blonde woman hemmed again and shoved her hands into her pockets.

"It's a date" she replied before realising what she had said. Neliel blinked but then giggled and reached to give Tia a quick hug, wrapping her free arm around her neck. Tia could smell her perfume and feel her soft hair brushing against her face.

"I'll call you" Neliel said as she entered the building and the door closed slowly behind her. Tia stood in her place for few seconds before turning around to start her walk back home.

* * *

><p>The next week went past in a haze. Tia had tried to stick with her original plan of burying herself into work so she couldn't think about Neliel but after Sunday it had proved almost impossible. Now she was just waiting for Friday and seeing her again. Neliel had called her later on Sunday evening, ensuring she had given her the right number.<p>

"_You never know if it's just the rejection hotline" _shehad laughed in a way that made Tia's heart skip a beat and her palms sweat. She had promised to call her again on Thursday to make up their plans.

"_I'm not sure who all will come but if everyone else is being boring we can always go out by ourselves_" she had promised, an offer that seemed more than tempting. But on Thursday she had called and informed her that they'd be joined by few of her closest friends, one of whom she had already met.

"_I think you saw Yoruichi at the club the other night, she's really itching to meet you again"_ Neliel had told her and indeed Tia did remember the woman. She'd hardly forget the sight of most impressive pair of breasts jiggling in front of her, and the jewellery attached to them. _You'd think it would give a relationship a certain kind of burden when you have seen the other person writhing naked on stage but I guess not, _she thought as she tried to decide what to wear for the night out. She hadn't been out for a real girl's night in ages, the last time had been before she had joined the Academy. She didn't even own any dresses or heels, they always made her feel like a cross-dresser. She finally opted for a casual top and a pair of jeans, though now she thought she just looked a dyke. _At least I'm not wearing a plaid shirt, _she sighed as she threw on her leather jacket and started to make her way to the bar they had agreed to meet before hitting the clubs.

The bar was the one Shunsui's friend Jyushiro owned. It was quite close to the force and looked quite welcoming, a more of traditional pub than a normal bar. Tia stepped in and immediately felt at home. The place wasn't that huge but there was big, wooden counter that dominated most of the space and lots of quiet corners where to retire with your friends. A soft, jazzy kind of music was playing from the jukebox and the walls were decorated with pictures of famous writers and actors from Hollywood's golden years. Tia saw Jyushiro standing behind the counter, chatting with a familiar looking woman. The woman threw her head back as she laughed, making her mane of purple hair flow in the air. Tia walked hesitantly to the counter, she knew she was bit early so it was perfectly normal if Neliel wasn't there yet. Still the gnawing feeling of rejection already started to tear her mind as she sat on a barstool next to Yoruichi. The woman turned to look at her and grinned at her. Jyushiro smiled kindly and lowered the glass he had been polishing.

"Hello Tia, how are you" the man asked. Tia smiled back at him and peeled off her leather jacket, earning a wolf whistle from Yoruichi. She glanced at the woman with a deep frown.

"Fine until just now" she said to Jyushiro, deciding to ignore the woman next to her.

"Are you gonna wear that tonight?" Yoruichi asked, gesturing to her attire. Tia turned to look at the woman, who herself was wearing a very revealing dress that left nothing to the imagination, apart from her inner organs.

"What's wrong with my clothes?" she asked, already regretting ever agreeing going out with this woman present. Yoruichi shrugged and took a sip of her drink that was something white in a tall glass.

"Nothing, if you want to look like under-dressed dyke" the woman replied, smiling wickedly at the blonde, waiting for her reaction. Tia decided not to give her the satisfaction and shrugged her shoulders.

"I don't own any dresses, so this is the best I came up with" she said and turned to Jyushiro, who was slowly shaking his head at Yoruichi's behaviour.

"Would you like a drink, Tia?" he asked, his voice as calm and soft as ever.

"Gin and tonic, if you'd please" she ordered, leaning her arms on the counter and tapped her bicep. Suddenly she felt Yoruichi's hand on her arm, tracing the lines of the muscles up to her neck, tilting her head back. She let the woman touch her but was ready to punch her face in.

"Hmmh" the woman hummed and drew her hand back, "you've got such potential but you fail to do anything with it. Sad thing, really." The blonde tried to ignore the remark though she could feel how her jaw clenched as she bit back the urge to spit back an attack on the woman's own choice of clothing. As she didn't get any reaction, Yoruichi turned back to her drink.

"Too bad, Neliel really likes sexy girls." This time Tia couldn't hide her flinching, earning a Cheshire grin from Yoruichi. She waited for Jyushiro to place her drink in front of her before talking.

"What do you mean?" she asked lowly, glaring at the woman from the corner of her eye. Yoruichi cackled like a witch and wiggled her eyebrows meaningfully.

"Gotcha" she murmured as she took another sip from her drink and then licked her lips clean, "what I'm saying is that if you want to get into Nel's pants, you need to do more than that." Tia could feel how her face started to burn with embarrassment, this woman knew no bounds.

"I have no idea what you're talking about" she muttered back and stared at her drink, intent on making the woman disappear if she ignored her long enough.

"Oh please, like I wouldn't notice the signs" the insolent woman continued, "you're so screwed it hurts. And tonight is your perfect chance to make a move on her, put a little effort to it!"

"Yoruichi" Jyushiro hushed, "not everyone is as straightforward as you." The woman laughed again and leaned her elbow on the counter.

"Life would be much easier if they were" she said and pushed her glass towards the man, "and again please." As Jyushiro turned to fill her glass, Tia straightened herself up and looked at the woman again.

"Let's say that you're right" she started slowly, stopping as Yoruichi snorted victoriously, "what would you then suggest? It's a bit too late for a shopping spree." Tia thought this would at least shut the woman up but wrong. Yoruichi grinned at her again and started to rummage through her purse. She fished out a phone, chose a number and raised the phone to her ear.

"A friend of mine lives close by, she'll be joining us later 'cause she always takes forever to get ready, and you look like you're just her size" she said before the person at the other end of the phone picked up, "oh hi Rangiku, yeah it's me, look, we have a small problem here. Yeah, Nel's new friend, she's hopeless and we need your wardrobe. We're at Jyushiro's right now. Okay, be there in ten."

She hung up the phone and jumped off the barstool, starting to walk towards the door. Tia stared after her and didn't move until the woman turned around and gestured for her to follow.

"C'mon, we haven't got all night!" she ordered and the blonde slowly slid off her seat and followed the smaller woman out of the bar.

"We'll be right back, Jyushiro!" Yoruichi hollered before stepping out in the cool evening. She started walking down the street, Tia few steps behind her.

"Rangiku lives in the next block, she'll help you out" she said to Tia over her shoulder as she advanced on in her three inch heels. Tia was still a bit taller than her in her converse but she had to admit that Yoruichi looked far more womanly than her as her hips swayed back and forth, the skin-tight dressing hugging her immaculate figure. After a five minute walk they arrived at the door of a block of flats and Yoruichi casually pressed every singly call button on the wall. Soon enough they heard the ringing sound as someone of the twenty residents opened the door and they walked in. Yoruichi made her to the elevator and glanced at Tia.

"I can dance the night away in these heels but I don't do stairs" she said, raising her other leg in the air. Tia raised an eyebrow to this, she wouldn't know about such things. Her natural height had always been more than enough for her so had never even owned a pair of high heels. She got called an amazon more than enough even without making herself look taller than she already was. They stepped into the elevator and went up to the fifth floor. Yoruichi skipped to the door on the left hand side of the elevator and knocked on it. Soon the door was opened and the woman slipped inside, Tia following suit.

The apartment obviously belonged to a woman. The hallway was filled with piles of shoes and at the end of it there was a huge vanity table, filled with jewellery and make-up. The hallway opened to a large living room and a kitchen, and on the other side there was a door opening to a big bathroom. There was a huge furry carpet on the floor and clothes scattered across the furniture. There were also many empty wine bottles all around the different surfaces. Yoruichi had walked straight into the kitchen, picked out a bottle of red wine and was opening it with her teeth. A tall, busty blonde woman emerged from the bathroom in a cloud of sweet perfume and hairspray. She was wearing blood red halterneck dress that revealed much of her ample breasts and the hem flowed around her feet as she walked. She was also wearing high heels despite being as tall as Tia and thus towered over her by almost four inches. Yoruichi whistled at the sight of the woman and stretched her neck to catch a glimpse of her whole attire.

"Damnit, I need to change into higher heels now" she said as she took a long swig out of the wine bottle. The woman, apparently Rangiku, let out a small, lilting laugh and then noticed Tia, who was standing in the hallway, looking quite out of place. She eyed her from head to toe like Yoruichi had before and shook her head, tutting at the same time.

"You're right Yoruichi, she's quite hopeless" she said to the other woman who gave her a "I told you so" –look from behind the wine bottle. Rangiku sauntered over to Tia and put her hands on her hips as she scanned the blonde with her ashy coloured eyes.

"But I think I have just the thing for you" she added, now smiling at her kindly and grabbing hold of her hand, starting to drag her towards the bathroom, "but first we need to do something to your hair and face. No offense, you have perfect skin I grant you that, but who doesn't? Plus I love your eyes, but they need a bit of oomph, you know?" Tia had no idea what the woman was talking about but decided to go along with it, she'd gone this far.

After a half an hour filled with foundation, powder, eyeliner, mascara and loads and loads of hairspray, Tia exited the bathroom, gagging from some fresh air. Yoruichi had already made her way through half a bottle of the wine and gave her an appreciative look as she stumbled on the couch.

"What dress were you thinking of?" Yoruichi asked Rangiku as she came out of the bathroom, fluffing her hair with her hands. She glanced around the living room and at all the clothes that were spread across it, then walked to the television and picked up a white, short dress. She threw it to Tia and then walked to the coffee table and fished out some white boots that, to Tia's relief, didn't have much heel.

"Try those on" she ordered. Tia frowned and looked at the women.

"Right here?" she asked, she wasn't ready to strip in front of other women quite yet. Rangiku rolled her eyes and gestured towards bathroom.

"You can change there if you have to" she said and walked over to Yoruichi, snatching the bottle of wine from her grasp as Tia shut herself in the bathroom.

"So, what do you say?" the smaller woman asked her friend. Rangiku took a swig out of the bottle before answering.

"She's hot alright, but kinda quiet. But I guess with Nel that would only be kinda balancing, you know?"

"Yeah, guess so" Yoruichi replied, leaning her arms on the kitchen counter, "Shunsui said she's a workaholic, I don't know how that would work out then."

"She's a cop? I wouldn't mind getting arrested if all the cops were like her" Rangiku laughed and handed the bottle back to Yoruichi.

Tia was looking at herself in the bathroom mirror. She tilted her head to the side as she eyed herself critically. The make-up Rangiku had done made her cheekbones more pronounced and her eyes looked brighter and bigger. Her hair was straightened to a sleek, shiny bob that Rangiku had messed a bit so it didn't look too fixed. And the clothes...Tia couldn't remember when was the last time she had shown this much skin, besides in her swimsuit. The hem of the one-shouldered dress just barely covered the curve of her ass and the fabric was strained over her breasts. The boots reached up to her knees and were actually quite comfy, they made no sound as she walked in them. She turned around in front of the mirror and had to admit that she looked nice enough. She didn't have that usual feeling of being too tall, too busty or too muscular. She heard banging on the door and Rangiku's voice calling her out.

"C'mon, show us!" she yelled and stepped away from the door, almost waiting for the blonde the smack her in the face with it. She knew that the blonde was packing far more than she let them see, a weak natured person wouldn't last long in the police force. _Just have to drag her out from that damn shell of hers. _The door was opened slowly and Tia stepped out, smoothing down her dress. Yoruichi raised her eyebrows and emptied to wine bottle with one last swig.

"Told you she got potential" she said to Rangiku, who was still admiring her handiwork.

"Oh my girl, you look fabulous" she finally breathed out and pulled the blonde into a tight hug. Tia frowned at the intimate gesture and patted the woman awkwardly on the back. Yoruichi slammed her hand on the table and walked towards the door.

"Now let's get going and find you a woman!" she shouted as she walked out, Rangiku following behind her and dragging Tia by the arm with her. _Now it's definitely too late to turn back. Hope it's all worth it._


	4. Chapter 4

_**Things are slowly heating up, hope you like it. Review if you would, my darlings. It keeps me warm at night.**_

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 4. <strong>_**My heart's bursting from its seams**_

Neliel was sitting at the bar, swiveling her drinking glass in her hand. She was looking at the clock on the wall every two minutes, feeling her anxiousness grow every time she did so. She was fiddling with her hair and trying to catch a glimpse of her face from the glass in her hand, fretting over her dress and whole look like she was a teenage girl going on her first date. Yoruichi had texted her that they had had a wardrobe malfunction and would be a bit late but it was already quarter past eight and they were supposed to meet at quarter to. Jyushiro had kept company and Shunsui had also come, starting to flirt with her the second he had sat down by the counter. Neliel laughed the man's attempts off, she knew very well that Shunsui's real interest was bustling behind the counter. Jyushiro laughed softly at Shunsui's corny flirting and their hands lingered on each other every time he handed the man a new drink. The look of pure adoration in their eyes made Neliel feel warm inside and a little bit jealous, she wanted to have someone who would look at her like that, and someone she would adore with her whole heart.

She looked at the clock again and suppressed a sigh, they were now running too late. She was already reaching for her purse to call Yoruichi when she heard the door open and a cloud of perfume wafted in. She heard the familiar loud laughter and her face split into a wide smile as she turned around to see Yoruichi, Rangiku and a tall blonde woman enter the bar. She had to look twice at the third woman before she recognized her. _That…that's not Tia_, she thought, _she doesn't wear make-up…Or short skirts…_If Neliel had before thought that Tia was beautiful and had an amazing body, the sight before her amplified that notion by a hundred per cent. The white dress she was wearing accentuated her dark skin colour, and her make-up made her eyes look sensual and seductive. Neliel drank up on the sight of the curves of her body as Tia walked towards her, her perfectly toned muscles moving along her graceful movements. To Neliel, she looked like a panther on the prowl. _Or maybe it's just the fact that she's a police officer, they're bound to be in good shape. _A quick image of Tia's colleagues flashed in her head. _I stand corrected._

"Nel!" Rangiku exclaimed as she ran to the counter, leaping to hug the woman. Neliel laughed and hugged the woman back, her honey blonde hair tickling Nel's face.

"My girl, you look gorgeous" the blonde complimented as she drew back to look at her friend. Neliel was wearing a shiny little black dress that hugged her ample figure and matching black pumps. Her hair cascaded down her back and shoulders, the natural waviness of it accentuated with curls.

"Thanks, so do you" she smiled and then peered over Rangiku's shoulder to see her other friends. Yoruichi was looking provocative as ever, and already Neliel knew how the night would end for her. But she still couldn't get her head around Tia's appearance, she looked so...different, but in a good way. _Somehow softer, I guess. _

"What do you think" Yoruichi asked as she sat down next to her, "did we do good?" Neliel frowned but then understood what she meant.

"Oh, so you" she gestured to her and Rangiku, then looked at Tia. The woman looked almost royal, but she could tell she wasn't all that comfortable. Apparently she had taken this as a challenge and was determined to make it through the night in one piece.

"I like it" Neliel smiled at her and patted the stool next to her. Shunsui had disappeared into the backrooms with Jyushiro before they had come in and now walked back into the bar, stopping on his tracks as he saw his colleague sitting by the counter.

"My my" he said as a grin slowly spread to his face. He sauntered to the women and eyed them all from head to toe in his usual bravado.

"Must be my lucky night" he chuckled and wrapped his arm around Rangiku's waist, the woman giggling like a schoolgirl and caressed the man's stubbly face.

"Oh look at you, you old dog" she cooed as she pressed her hand against the man's chest, "you're dressed up for the occasion." Shunsui was wearing a clean suit for once, and it wasn't even made of velvet. He looked quite sharp actually, despite his scruffy face. His hair was on a loose ponytail that hung on his back, apparently he had even combed it for once. Jyushiro hid his smile as he arranged glasses behind the counter, to him it was actually amusing how Shunsui was always surrounded by women and how he played them along. The mock-flirting between Rangiku and Shunsui was sometimes a real spectacle, both of them were hopeless teases. And Yoruichi was the worst of them all, but she more than often took someone home with her. Neliel got more attention than she ever wanted and liked to fool around as well, but Jyushiro couldn't remember her leaving home with anyone. He glanced at Tia, who looked almost radiant in her white attire and blonde hair framing her features, and then at Neliel who was trying to casually look at the woman every now and then. The attraction between those two was quite obvious, but he wasn't sure if they were aware of it.

"So, what do you ladies would like to drink?" Shunsui asked, switching on his usual gigolo gear, "Wine, cocktails, whatever you'd like." Rangiku snickered as she placed a finger on her chin as if she was pondering on where to start her night out.

"I could go for some wine, please Jyushiro" she smiled to the man, batting her fake eyelids at him. Jyushiro smiled back at her his soft smile and turned to look at Yoruichi, who was scanning the rows of bottles behind the counter.

"Give me some good olde Jack, would you" she grinned, tapping her long fingernails against the counter.

"And you, Neliel, Tia?" Shunsui asked, waltzing over to the blonde woman and draped his arm around her shoulders, "Can I say that you look ravishing this evening?" Tia flashed him a wide smile and to his surprise, leaned in to his touch.

"I might say the same thing to you, Shunsui" she purred, tracing her fingers along his jawline down to his chest, "you should comb your hair more often." Jyushiro snorted as he handed Rangiku and Yoruichi their drinks, and Neliel her usual mojito. The green-haired woman thanked him with a wide smile and even leaned over the counter to peck a kiss on his pale cheek. They spend around an hour in the bar, having drinks and bantering with each other until Yoruichi slammed her glass on the counter and got up.

"Enough, I want to dance now!" she announced, making Rangiku clap her hands together and twirl around on the floor.

"Yes, let's get going already" she concurred, "while we're still up and running." Neliel slid of her seat, flicking back her mass of hair.

"You're right, Jyushiro's trying to get us all so drunk we can't even walk straight" she scolded the man and waved her finger at him. The man spread out his hands and smiled apologetically.

"How could I say 'no' to such lovely ladies such as you" he tried to defend himself, earning a sympathetic glance from Shunsui. The man reached over to pat him on the shoulder.

"There's no way to satisfy these women, Ukitake" he said and winked at the said trio of vixens. The women wailed and made faces to Shunsui, who chuckled darkly under his breath. Tia smiled and walked past the man, casually brushing his hand.

"You're not coming with us Shunsui?" Rangiku pouted and folded her arms under her chest. The man shook his head and glanced at Jyushiro, who was again focusing on cleaning the counter.

"Not this time girls" he said, "I'm getting too old to party with you, I can't keep up anymore."

"Well that's true" Yoruichi snorted and grinned widely, "you two old farts have fun then. Let's go girls!" With that the four women exited the bar, Yoruichi and Rangiku leading them on and Neliel right behind them. Tia followed few steps behind, still bit hesitant on joining in with the loud and larger than life personalities. Neliel glanced at her over her shoulder and smiled encouragingly, reaching her hand out to her.

"C'mon Tia, I'll protect you" she laughed. The blonde woman looked at her hand and then hesitantly took it, the girl's skin was soft and warm under her touch. Neliel wrapped her fingers around Tia's hand and lead her to the others.

"So, where are we going tonight?" Rangiku asked.

"There's a new club in town" Yoruichi informed them, "it's really a secret and really secluded crowd, but I know the owner so we can get in."

"If it's so secret will there be any people there?" Neliel doubted. Yoruichi rolled her eyes at her.

"Yes there will, Doubting Thomas, and it's a very good crowd. Only the coolest and sexiest people get in."

"Oh in that case it's good that you know the manager" Rangiku snickered, earning a harsh glare from the smaller woman. She waved her hand in front of the blonde's face.

"I could rip your weave clean off with these nails, keep that in mind." Rangiku touched her hair looking hurt.

"This is one hundred per cent natural" she protested and then grabbed her breasts into her hands, "as are these bad boys."

"I highly doubt that" Neliel giggled and had to dodge an angry slap from the woman. Tia followed the strange interaction between the trio and though she had never experienced such friendship, it felt oddly comforting to be a part of this group. Last time she had been a part of a group of female friends had been in her teenage years, when everyone had been really self-conscious about their looks and the only topic of conversation had been boys. Even then Tia had felt like an outsider since she had never felt attracted to any male, fellow student or a teacher. She had gotten her fair share of attention from them though, which had only made it worse since she had had to think up excuses to back them off, and of course other girls wouldn't understand why she kept refusing all their advances, even from the hottest guys in their school. She had conjured up an imaginary boyfriend she had met during the summer on her holiday in France, which had made all the girls even more jealous. _Oh Jean-Pierre, if they'd only known..._

They were making their way to the town centre and were starting to see other people on a night out too. They were large groups of women dressed similarly in tiny dresses and high heels, and men ogling at them, whistling and making rude suggestions. Their group also got a lot of attention as they walked by, most women glared at them viciously, especially since Rangiku did her best to attract all the men's attention, even those who had a girlfriend clinging onto their arm. Yoruichi wasn't any better, they almost had to stop a few times to peel a particularly persistent man off of her. Tia ignored all the attention that was directed to her, and to her surprise so did Neliel, except for the occasional pitying smile she gave her suitors.

"Don't you just get tired of all these men?" she sighed to Tia at one point after they had passed another group of horny individuals. Tia shrugged and glanced at the girl's attire.

"I guess we can only blame ourselves" she said. Though she did get more attention than she wanted even when she was dressed in her track suit, but still.

"For being so bloody gorgeous? Yeah, guess we're to blame for that" Rangiku chuckled over her shoulder.

"It still doesn't give anyone the right to ogle us just because we're showing a bit of skin" Neliel protested, making Tia raise her eyebrows. A bit of skin was the understatement of the year.

"You haven't complained before" Yoruichi remarked as she waved at the group of men passing them by, earning harsh looks from their girlfriends, "besides, it's just a little bit of fun."

"Yeah, nothing wrong with that" Rangiku agreed as they slowed down and took a turn to right from a street corner.

They arrived to a bit darker side street and saw a large, burly man standing next to a closed door that led inside the building. Yoruichi sauntered to the man and exchanged few words with him. The man nodded just noticeably and opened the door. Yoruichi turned around and gestured her friends to follow up. The women did as told, Rangiku looking excited, Neliel and Tia were more wary. The bouncer eyed them from head to toe as they walked past him and Tia could almost swear she'd seen the man somewhere before. She didn't have time to think about it as they entered the building and the door was slammed shut behind them. Loud thumping music was blasting from various speakers, making it almost impossible to hear anything else. Strobe lights were flashing all around and artificial smoke filled the air. The smell of the smoke mixed in with the smell of colognes and perfumes and sweat as they walked farther back into the club.

Yoruichi had been right, all the people seemed to be young and cool, the in-crowd as they'd say. Almost all the women looked like supermodels, as did the men, but the styles varied from classic barbiedolls to gothic princesses, from metalheads to hiphoppers. The majority of the space was dominated by a huge dance floor, which was packed with people dancing so close to each other it was almost impossible to walk through the crowd. The DJ was situated at the back end of the hall, with platforms for dancers beside him. At the moment two scantily clad women were strutting their stuff on the platforms, earning a lot of wolf whistles and admiring looks from the crowd below them. Yoruichi eyed the place critically and her gaze stopped at the platforms. A slow grin spread to her face as she looked at Neliel and nudged towards the platforms with her head.

"Wanna have a go?" she asked. The green haired woman seemed hesitant for a bit but then Yoruichi grabbed her arm and started to drag her towards the podium.

"C'mon, it'll be fun!" she insisted, and Neliel gave in. She glanced at the two blondes as she was being pulled to the dance floor.

"Be right back!" she hollered at them before disappearing into the pressure of human bodies. Rangiku laughed and shook her head, then looked at Tia who was scanning the place with her eyes. She sighed and grabbed her hand, dragging her towards the bar.

"Let's get you a drink sweetie" she said as she weaved through the crowd. Tia felt so exposed among the people, everyone she walked past eyed her like a predator would its prey, making her feel extremely self-conscious. Rangiku didn't seem to mind the attention, she did the same to everyone else they passed by. Finally they reached the bar and Rangiku shoved few less eager people out of her way using her elbows and hips like a riot police would use their shields. Tia was impressed by the woman's determination and seeming lack of care for other people as she casually jumped in front of another woman who was waiting to be served.

"Excuse me sweetie" she cooed as she reached over the counter to wave to the bartender. The woman glared at her and would've probably started a scene if it weren't for Tia who leaned her hand against the counter, looking down at the woman with an icy stare. The smaller woman weighed her options and then decided it best not to mess around with a woman twice her size and who owned biceps like that, and quietly backed away. Rangiku had noticed the little display and smiled widely at Tia.

"Nice one there" she congratulated her as the bartender gave her two drinks, "you fit well in here."

"I wouldn't think so" she replied as the blonde offered her the other drink.

The song changed into a faster rhythm and the two women turned to look at the dance floor. Yoruichi and Neliel had taken charge of the platforms and were already grinding against the poles that were provided there. Tia had a flashback from the Friday week before and had to fight the blush creeping to her face as she remembered the sight of both women in even less clothing than now. They were getting a lot of attention from the crowd, and even the DJ was more focused on following their dance than playing records. Rangiku nudged Tia and started to push her way through the crowd into the dance floor. Tia had no choice but to follow suit though she had no experience of dancing in clubs. Rangiku had raised her drink above her head so no one would knock it off her hand and squeezed past the people until she reached the steps that lead to the dance floor.

She glimpsed at Yoruichi and Neliel who were flirting to each other from the podiums, their moves getting more and more provocative as the song went on. She glanced over her shoulder to see if Tia was still following her and to her surprise the woman had no trouble moving through the mass of people, on the contrary people seemed to give her way as she walked by. _Well, she doesn't really look the type who would usually dwell in underground clubs, does she now? _The tall blonde made it to Rangiku's side and she nodded towards the packed dance floor.

"Let's go and shake that thang" she laughed, emptied her glass in one gulp and headed down the stairs into the pressure of bodies grinding against each other. Tia watched as she disappeared in the crowd, then at Neliel who was shaking her ass to the music and then at her drink. With a mental sigh, she gulped the drink down, took one more look at Neliel and followed Rangiku to the dance floor.

The blonde had cleared a small space for herself right in the middle of the dance floor, tactically pushing people out of her way using her hips. Tia stumbled next to her and stood there not really knowing what to do. Rangiku had closed her eyes as she listened to the music and started to swing her hips to the bass line. Her hands joined in, running up her body and reaching towards the roof as her feet took small steps back and forth. She opened her eyes and nodded encouragingly to Tia.

"Just do what I do, you'll be fine" she mouthed to her, it was near impossible make enough sound to be heard this close to the speakers. Tia nodded back and exhaled slowly, then, looking at Rangiku's swaying hips, started to mimic her movements. Normally she would've felt like an idiot but now, thanks to the alcohol in her blood and the atmosphere and the pressure of bodies all around her doing the same thing lowered her inhibitions and she started to move to the music, first only slightly and then more, earning a approving grin from Rangiku.

The blonde woman ran her fingers through her hair, flinging it all around her as she rocked her body to the music. Occasionally she felt a hand wrapping around her waist and she took a quick step aside, twirling around to escape from the grasp. She kept an eye on Tia the whole time, making sure she wouldn't lose the woman in the crowd. To her surprise the blonde seemed to be enjoying herself, and she actually had some nice moves. Her dancing style was different from the usually oversexed grinding women in clubs did, it was more controlled and her movements were subdued, still hitting every note of the song being played. In other words, she managed to look cool even while dancing, which was quite a feat in Rangiku's book. She looked over to the podiums and noticed that Neliel was looking down at them, or rather at Tia. As the song changed, she glanced over at Yoruichi, who was having the time of her life, being the focus of attention, and waved at her to signal she was going down. The smaller woman just nodded and concentrated on her own moves, snaking her body around the pole and grinding against it. Neliel giggled at her friend's showmanship as she climbed down to the dance floor, weaving her way towards Rangiku and Tia.

She made it to them and squeezed herself next to Tia, smiling widely to the woman. Her presence seemed to make her nervous, as she almost stopped moving altogether. Neliel pursed her lips at her and started to dance again, nudging her hips against hers. The blonde avoided her eyes and stared down at her shoes, suddenly feeling extremely self-conscious again. Neliel sighed and moved so she was facing the woman, and placed her hands on her hips. She forced her to move in rhythm with herself, managing to get the blonde relax and dance again.

Rangiku slowly slipped away from them, finally letting a pair of hands wrap around her waist and drag her into the crowd. Tia and Neliel didn't even notice her leaving, they were too absorbed in each others' presence to pay attention to anything happening around them. Tia had wrapped her arms around Neliel's tiny waist and she had locked hers around the blonde's neck, both smiling shyly to each other as they moved to the music. As the song changed again, Neliel let her hands slide down from Tia's neck, gently stroking the curves of her body as she moved her hands to grab hold of Tia's and laced their fingers together. She let out a string of giggles as she pressed her body close to hers, their faces were almost touching now and she could feel Tia's breasts pressing against her own. Neliel noticed how the woman's breath had almost stopped and her eyes were widened, but her hands were holding tightly on Nel's. She leaned her head closer to whisper in Tia's ear, smelling her perfume on her neck.

"You're beautiful" she murmured. She heard Tia's hem and then felt warm lips on her neck, kissing the sensitive skin just under her ear. Neliel automatically closed her eyes and sighed, stretching her neck to the side so the woman would kiss her again. She felt Tia's hand slip away from hers and then cool fingers brush against her skin where those lips had just been, giving her shivers all along her spine.

"Dance with me" Neliel sighed into her ear and felt her hand slide down her shoulder and grab her hand again, pushing their bodies apart. Tia was wearing a strange expression, her eyes were smiling and her lips were curved into a devious smirk, a look that made Neliel's knees wobble under her. The woman spun her around so she had her back against her and then felt being pulled against her body, Tia's arms wrapping around her waist. They swayed to the rhythm, ignoring the crowd around them. Neliel could see Yoruichi grinning down at them from her podium where she was now accompanied by a muscular young man with no shirt on. She uttered a laugh and lowered her head, only to feel Tia's lips on her neck again, nibbling gently against her skin. She raised her hand to caress the woman's face and sunk her fingers into the thick blond hair.

She didn't know how long they danced like that, their hands casually caressing each other and gently pressing their bodies together, feeling the other's warmth skin and heavy breathing. Finally Neliel had had enough and grabbed Tia's arm, nodding her head towards the exit. The blonde smiled gently and turned to lead them away from the dance floor. Neliel was impressed how swiftly the woman made her way through the crowd, gently pushing people aside and slipping through the pressure of bodies. They had risen the stairs up and were already at the door when Tia turned to look back at Neliel, here there were no strobe lights or smoke to distract her sight. She felt a lump in her throat upon looking at the woman, her cheeks were flushed from the dancing and her fringe was stuck to her forehead but she still looked so beautiful it was unfair. The girl laughed softly and stepped next to her, wrapping her arm around her waist and smacking a kiss on her cheek, nuzzling her nose against her face.

"Let's get out of here" she murmured into Tia's ear, smiling widely. The blonde nodded and they walked out of the door, their steps settling into a common rhythm. They could still hear the music thumping as they walked out of the alley into the main street. There weren't as many people as before so they could stroll peacefully along the street, not really knowing where they were headed. Neliel leaned her head against Tia's head, closing her eyes and smiling to herself. She felt a hand brushing her hair, lingering sweetly and twirling strands of hair around the fingers. She started to hum a song she had been listening on the radio earlier that day, her voice was light and gentle. She slowly tampered for the words, remembering occasional line here and there when she heard Tia joining in.

"The stars, the moon, they have all been blown out..." her voice was lower and darker, a fully resonating alto. Neliel smiled and instinctively lowered her own voice so she could hear better.

"And in the dark, I can hear your heartbeat, I tried to find the sun" the blonde lined out, glancing at the woman by her side and fighting back a smile. She continued singing and Neliel joined her at the chorus, their voices growing louder as they tried to hit the high notes.

"I'm always in this twilight, in the shadow of your heart" they belted out, Neliel continuing to wail the melody after the song had ended. She threw her head back as she laughed and looked at Tia, whose face had settled into a kind, warm smile that reached up to her eyes. Their adoring gaze was almost too much to bear for Neliel and she stopped, raising her hand to Tia's neck and pulled her into a kiss.

Tia's hands snaked around Neliel's waist and pulled her closer as the woman tilted her head to the side to deepen the kiss. Their lips moved against each other in slow, deliberate rhythm, feeling every curve and dimple. Neliel could taste the sweet alcohol on the blonde's lips as she slid out her tongue and pried the other's mouth open. Tia eagerly parted her lips and their tongues slid against each other, soft moans escaping from their mouths. The kiss sent warmth swirling in their stomachs with and their skin tingled with each others' touch. Hearing someone's steps coming closer Tia broke the kiss and drew back from Neliel, her lips moist and still parted. Neliel didn't pull her hand away and caressed the blonde's cheek with her thumb, wanting to kiss her again.

"Do you...do you wanna come home, with me?" she asked, smiling to Tia. She thought the woman looked enticing, her blonde hair stark contrast to her dark skin and the white dress accentuating the natural glow of her complexion. She looked almost angelic, her blonde hair like a halo around her head.

"I'd want to but I..." Tia paused as she saw Neliel's face fall, her smile wavered and her eyes looked sad and dim. She hated herself for that.

"I don't know how...I've never..." she tried to explain, earning a plaintive smile from Neliel who pressed a finger against her lips.

"It's okay, I understand" she said, caressing the woman's lips, "I said I'd protect you, if you just let me." Tia hemmed and lowered her head to avoid Neliel's eyes, there was no way she could turn her down when she was looking at her like that.

"Please Tia, I really like you, you make me feel like I'm someone important when I'm with you, it's like I've known you for ages" Neliel continued, trying to convince the woman not to run away from her, "but if you don't feel the same then it's okay, I understand, I know I'm not very smart or special in any way and my work is iffy at best but..." _I hoped you'd like me too._ Neliel didn't have time to finish her sentence when Tia grabbed her wrist and locked eyes with her.

"Don't say things like that, silly girl. You're perfect." Neliel could feel her face starting to blush. She, who took her clothes off for money without any shame was blushing just because this woman had said few nice words to her.

"Now let's go, but leave the protecting to me" she continued, now smirking deviously at her, "I'm a cop, remember?" Neliel laughed, bit too loudly and bit too much, thanks to her slight drunkenness and relief that her gamble hadn't bit her back.

"Sounds good to me" she giggled and grasped Tia's hand into her own, "take me home then, officer."


	5. Chapter 5

_**An update, surely not? Sorry this took so fricking long. I had trouble deciding whether to write a purely smutty chapter or wait for little longer but I decided to go with the first option. Plot can wait for one chapter, smut is easier to write in a hurry.**_

**Chapter 5. **_**You're the beauty in my world**_

Tia and Neliel walked to her apartment in the quiet night. They didn't talk much, mainly just exchanged glances and smiled at each other, Neliel stealing occasional kisses from Tia's lips as the woman gazed at her. She giggled after each kiss and nuzzled her head against the woman's shoulder, sighing contently. Tia stroked her hair and traced the line of her jaw with her delicate fingers, her palms calloused from hours spent at training. They finally made it to Neliel's house, and the young woman fumbled her purse for the keys. Tia stood few steps behind her, running her hands through her hair that was dampened with sweat. It made hairspray stuck to her hands, making them feel sticky. Neliel managed to open the door and turned to grab hold of Tia's hand, pulling her inside after her.

Neliel stumbled on the stairs, almost falling to her knees before Tia quickly swept her into her arms. The girl laughed and looked at the blonde, pecking a kiss on her lips again. This time Tia responded to the kiss, moving her hand to the back of Neliel's head so she couldn't pull away. Neliel moaned at the touch, wrapping her fingers around Tia's arms and pulling her closer.

"We probably shouldn't stay here" she mumbled after a while, not wanting to let go of the woman quite yet. Tia hummed in response, picking them both up to their feet and walking to Neliel's apartment. She turned on the lights and started to take off her shoes and jacket.

"You can leave your coat on the rack" she said to Tia over her shoulder as she leant on the wall while taking off her pumps. She heard the rustling of clothes behind her and then two thumps as the white boots were taken off and left to the floor. Neliel massaged her own feet, hissing at the slight pain.

"Dunno what's the point of wearing high heels, I'm much taller than most girls anyway" she laughed and pushed her mass of hair over her shoulder. Tia smiled and stood awkwardly at the doorway, swaying slightly in her drunken state.

"Do you want something to drink or…?" Neliel asked as she turned around to look at her. The blonde shook her head and opened her mouth to say something but then fell silent again.

"I'm glad you came out tonight with us" the girl continued, trying to think up something to say. She could feel the false confidence caused by alcohol starting to fade away and making her feel self-conscious again, so aware of all her flaws and misgivings. She coughed awkwardly and turned away to walk to the kitchen.

"I'm gonna have some water, you should have some too" she said, trying to sound nonchalant and casual, as if she wasn't almost freaking out she had actually managed to bring Tia home. In the kitchen she screamed silently at the cupboards and almost banged her head on the wooden surface, quickly pulling herself together and took out two glasses. As she turned around to take the other glass to Tia she saw the woman already standing behind her, letting out a small squeal out of fright and jumped back.

"Jesus Tia, you scared me there" she breathed out and tried to laugh it off.

"Sorry" the woman muttered and reached her hand to take the glass of water. She was glad to have something to hold, she didn't know what to do with her hands now. She was starting to regret this whole thing, she had been too drunk at the time and this would probably be just awfully awkward on both sides. Neliel seemed nervous too, like she didn't want her there anymore. She'd been drunk too, maybe she should just leave before everything became too embarrassing and difficult.

"Thanks for the water" she said after she had emptied the glass. Neliel was now avoiding her eyes and biting her lower lip, she clearly wanted for her to leave.

"I'll just go now…" she said and made a move to walk out. Neliel snapped her head up and stared at her with wide eyes.

"Wha—why, what did I do?" Tia looked at her with a frown.

"I just…you look so uncomfortable, I thought you wanted me to…"

"Oh no, no no no, oh I'm sorry" the girl quickly responded, putting down her glass and closing the distance between them. She took Tia's hands into her own and raised them to her face, kissing her fingers gently.

"I'm sorry I didn't mean to" she murmured, looking up at Tia, "I'm just…bit nervous. Please don't go." To her relief a slow smile spread to Tia's face, softening her sharp features and blue eyes.

"If you don't want me to, I won't" she said, reaching her hand to push back a strand of green hair. She twirled her fingers around the silken locks.

"You're so beautiful" she whispered, more to herself than to Neliel. She blushed and tried to hide her face again but Tia's firm hold kept her in place.

"You always do that" she continued, chuckling lowly, "silly girl." Neliel laughed and looked Tia in the eyes.

"You're the same age as me and you still call me a girl."

"You have no problem with being silly then?"

"If you don't, then I don't either." Tia hemmed and pressed a light kiss on her lips, cupping her face into her hands. Neliel gave in to the touch again, pressing her body closer to Tia's. She could feel the warmth emanating from her body through the light fabric of her borrowed dress and wanted to remove even that minor obstacle from between them. She wrapped her arms around Tia's waist, slowly lowering one hand down towards her ass and the other up between Tia's shoulder blades. Tia's hands moved to hold Neliel's neck, her fingers burying into her green hair. She could feel heat pooling down between her legs and moaned softly as Neliel wrapped her leg around her feet. She slowly moved her other hand down to caress Neliel's collarbones, then lower to brush the curve of her breasts. Neliel pressed their lips together, closing her eyes as they touched. Tia answered to the kiss slowly, their lips massaging against each other bit tentatively at first but then relaxing and getting bolder. Neliel slid her tongue into Tia's mouth, entwining it with hers and tasting her on her tongue. Nel's both hands moved along Tia's body, anxious to touch her hot skin. The kiss deepened and their breathing became heavier and quicker as they tried to almost devour each other in their craving for more contact. Finally Nel broke the kiss, slightly gasping for breath but with a wide smile on her face. Tia licked her lips, still tasting the other woman on her tongue. Their hands still caressed each other's bodies, tugging on their clothing.

"Tia, I really…I really want you right now" Neliel almost sighed and buried her other hand in the woman's blond hair. Tia smiled gently and kissed the corner of her mouth.

"I want you too" she whispered into her ear, her soft low voice made Neliel's skin tingle.

"I want it to be special" she said, her fingers tracing lines on Tia's bare skin.

"I'm sure it will be" the blonde chuckled back and kissed her mouth, her dominating caress almost making Neliel's knees buckle under her. Then she got an idea. She reluctantly broke the kiss and looked Tia straight into her eyes from under her fringe, smiling nervously.

"Would you want a private show?" she asked smilingly, trying to cover up her nervousness with a giggle. Tia arched an eyebrow to her.

"You don't have to do anything for me."

"But...I'd really like to" she insisted, wringing her hands. The blonde hemmed and raised her hand to cup her face. She ran her thumb along her cheek.

"Then I'd really love that" she said softly and nuzzled their noses together. Neliel uttered a laugh and planted a quick kiss on Tia's lips.

"Okay, just sit down in the living room and wait a minute, I'll be right back." Nel turned around and walked out of the room, her hips swinging as she moved. Tia sighed and walked out of the kithcen, then sat down on the small couch. She looked around the room, it was pretty similar to her own, though not as dodgy. The area was nicer too, she had felt immediate relief when she had noticed that Neliel wasn't living in a dangerous part of town. Neliel had put more effort into decoration though, she had photos of herself and her friends and beautiful framed pictures on the walls and matching carpets and curtains. Tia felt immediately at ease there, which was odd because maybe partly because of her police training, she was usually on edge in a foreign environment.

She heard the click of high heels against wooden floors and turned around to look to the direction of the sound. Neliel was leaning to the doorframe of her bedroom, wearing thigh-high leather boots and tiny shorts that barely covered the curve of her ass. Her midriff was exposed and the only thing covering her ample breasts was a tiny jacket which still revealed most of her cleavage. Her long hair was tied into tight bun on her neck and she was wearing a police hat on her head. Tia wasn't sure whether to laugh out loud or get offended. She didn't have time to think about it more when Neliel started to walk slowly towards her, swaying her hips exaggeratingly and her hands sliding along her body, caressing her breasts and looking Tia straight in the eye from under the brim of her hat. She licked her lips as she made her way to Tia, resting her hands on the waist of her shorts. She smiled to her over her shoulder as she walked to her stereo system that was in the corner and soon soft saxophone music started to play. Neliel's body swayed to the rhythm of the music, her hands reaching out towards to roof. Tia's eyes were fixed on the woman, focusing on the curves of her body.

Neliel turned around and walked right in front of Tia, looking down at her from behind her fringe. She caressed her body teasingly, swinging her hips from side to side as her hands slowly made their way to her breasts, kneading them gently. She let out a soft moan and licked her lips, keeping her eyes on Tia the whole time. The blonde could already feel herself getting wet, she had to draw in a slow breath to keep herself calm. Neliel giggled and turned around, protruding her ass to her. Her hands ran over the curves of her hips and ass and she gave herself a firm smack on her right buttock. She moaned louder this time and drew in a hissing breath between her teeth. The shorts had tiny zippers on the sides so they could be removed easily without a fuss. Neliel turned sideways to Tia and slowly started to undo the first zip. Tia could now see she was wearing a black lacey thong under the shorts and licked her lips expectantly as more and more skin was revealed to her. Neliel took off the tiny shorts and let them drop to the floor. She smiled at Tia widely and reached down to run her hand through the blonde's hair down to her neck and up her jawline. She leaned forward and planted a light kiss on the woman's lips but then drew quickly back before she had the chance to grab her. She waved her finger at the blonde.

"Tut tut, not yet" she murmured and took a step back, the whole time keeping her body moving to the music.

Her hands slid up to her breasts again, massaging them hardly and making her moan. Her other hand moved to the zip of the jacket she was wearing and slowly unzipped it, revealing the perfect mounds of firm flesh. She let the jacket hang open and started to caress her breasts, circling her fingers around the pert nipples. Tia groaned and bit her lower lip as she watched Neliel's seductive performance. Her stomach was filled with butterflies and her face felt hot. Her hands were itching to touch the woman's body but she had to restrain herself for the moment. Nel shook off the small jacket and threw it next to her shorts. She was now wearing only her boots, thong and the hat. She reached to the back of her head and undid her tight bun, letting her mass of hair flow down her back. She shook her head, making her breasts jingle. She then stepped closer to Tia again and leaned down, pressing her hands next to her head on the back of the couch. She slid herself into her lap and hovered over Tia, letting her have a good look on her almost naked body. She slowly lowered herself into Tia's lap, pressing her hips down to hers and rolling them slowly, teasing her. Her breasts were right in front of Tia's face and the blonde leaned her head forward so she could kiss them. Neliel let her and moaned again as the woman took her nipple into her mouth, sucking on it gently. Neliel moved her hand to the back of Tia's head and pressed her tighter against her chest. The blonde flicked her tongue around the nipple, her lips gracing over the sensitive skin. Tia's hands grabbed Neliel's hips and pressed them down harder on her own body and she bucked her hips up to meet her movements.

"Tia" Nel sighed as her fingers ran through the woman's hair. The blonde was still sucking on her breast, licking the nipple and kissing it, then she nibbled on it gently. Neliel almost mewled from the touch and had to draw back, she still had something to do before things got too heated. She backed up a little and slid her hand down Tia's body down to her groin. She rubbed on the light fabric covering her sex and grinned devilishly. She tugged the hem of her dress up, revealing her tiny underwear and then slid off from her lap. She was now on her knees before the blonde and pulled off her underwear and parted the woman's legs, positioning herself between them. She stroked Tia's thighs slowly and shuffled closer, the woman's body was tensed up and her breathing had gotten heavier.

"Don't worry, I won't bite" Neliel murmured and dipped her head lower to kiss Tia's thighs. She caressed the woman's legs and slowly approached her groin. Finally her lips hovered over her sex as she planted a light kiss right above the trimmed line of pubic hair. She stuck out her tongue and licked Tia's clitoris, making the woman groan lowly. Neliel dipped her head lower and gave Tia's sex a long, deliberate lick and earned a louder moan this time. She moved her hands under the blonde's thighs, raising them to her shoulders and felt them wrap around her neck. She continued on licking Tia's sex, flattening her tongue against it and flicking it around the clitoris with every lick. Tia's hands buried themselves into her hair, taking off her hat and throwing it on the floor. The woman's fingers rubbed against her scalp, which actually felt nice.

Neliel dipped her tongue inside Tia, tasting the woman's bittersweet juices and lapping at her sex bit faster. She felt Tia's legs tightening around her neck and almost smiled to herself, knowing she was doing something right made it all feel so much better. The woman was bit quiet but kept shifting on her place, her fingers tugging on Nel's long hair. She sucked gently on Tia's clit, this time she could feel the woman's legs shiver.

"Gods Neliel" the woman sighed and Nel glanced up to see Tia had closed her eyes, her head lulling back on the couch. Neliel moved her other hand from Tia's thigh to between her parted legs and gently pushed one finger inside her, making the woman's hips jerk. Tia was biting down on her lower lip and her chest heaved up and down from her heavy breathing. Neliel slowed her pace down, sliding her tongue between Tia's folds, she didn't want to end this so soon. She wanted to hear Tia moan properly, and make her whole body quiver as she came for her. Her tongue still lingered on Tia's clit for a while as her finger prodded inside her but then she slowly drew out, sitting back on her hunches in front of Tia's parted legs. The woman's eyes were still shut and her breathing slowly steadied down, her hands now lying idly on the couch. She cracked her eyes open, her gaze hazy from lust and want. Neliel licked her lips slowly and teasingly, earning another quiet moan from the blonde. Tia reached her hand to her, pulling Neliel back into her lap. The stripper settled her legs on Tia's sides, their faces almost on level now. The blonde stretched her neck up to kiss Nel, capturing her moist lips into a strong lip-lock that again made the girl's insides flip over. Neliel's own hands slid up Tia's sides to her breasts, kneading them gently. She wanted Tia out of this dress so she could feel how her skin responded to her touches.

"Did you like that" she asked breathily in between kisses. Tia merely hummed pleasantly in response, not wanting to break their kiss. Neliel yelped against her mouth as she felt the woman's hands wrap around her and then she got up from the couch. Nel quickly wrapped her legs around Tia's waist, hoisting herself up on Tia's lap and the vinyl of her boots squeaked as she rubbed her legs together. The blonde carried her towards her bedroom and once inside, gently lowered her on the bed. Neliel leaned her hands behind her back, tilting her head to one side as she waited for Tia's next move.

The blonde grabbed the hem of her dress that was already riding up to her hips and quickly pulled it over her head, throwing it to the floor. Her quick hands unclasped her black bra with one swift movement and they flew to the floor next to her borrowed dress. Tia was now completely naked before Nel, her perfect dark skin seemed to almost glow in the moonlight that shone from the bedroom window. She knelt down on the floor beside the bed and gently took Neliel's foot in her hands. The girl frowned slightly but then Tia started to unzip the boot that she was still wearing, undoing the zip slowly and her fingers gently brushing her calf as her bare skin was revealed. Neliel had never even thought about how sensitive the skin of her legs was but now as Tia's slender fingers caressed her shins, she felt herself shiver. The blonde noticed this and quickly removed her other shoe too, then took Nel's leg into her hands and started to massage her foot. Her skillful fingers pressed on the sensitive spots on the bottom of her foot and made her draw in a hissing breath before she let out a high keening sound as Tia continued kneading the ball of her foot.

"Oh man" Nel almost laughed, leaning back on her elbows on the bed. Tia smiled at her as she continued kneading Neliel's small foot, the girl's toes curled from every touch and she was almost moaning already. After she was done with the first foot, she took hold of the other and gave it the same treatment, earning pleasant moans from the girl lying on the bed. Tia's hands slowly made their way up Neliel's shins, massaging the smooth tanned skin slowly and deliberately. Finally her hands reached Neliel's thighs and her movements turned into smoothing caresses as she rose up from the floor and slowly crawled up on top of Neliel. The girl opened her eyes and smiled up at Tia, the woman's hands had stopped on her thighs.

"Where did you learn to do that?" Nel chuckled and tried to sit up so she could reach to kiss the blonde. The police woman's smile widened slightly and her hands moved to Nel's hips, tugging on the waist band of her lacy underwear. Neliel's eyes lit up as she felt the small garment slide down her thighs and then saw it being thrown to the floor. She automatically parted her legs to Tia, the woman was now on her knees on the edge of the bed, her hands pressing down on Neliel's hips. Nel bucked her hips up, yearning to be touched. Tia's green eyes scanned Neliel's now completely naked body from her beautiful face down to her parted legs, drinking in the sight of her smoothly curving hips and round breasts with pert nipples, her long slim legs and the green mane that cascaded down her shoulders and back. The girl's body was emanating warmth and her chest rose and fell in time with her deep breaths, Tia knew Nel was doing that on purpose. Her smile widened into a light smirk as she leaned down to kiss Neliel's full lips, distracting her as her fingers moved down between her legs.

Neliel whined against Tia's mouth as the blonde's hand slid down to her sex, her long fingers parting her folds and dipping inside her, thumb caressing her clit. The woman's other hand cupped Nel's breast, kneading the soft flesh. The girl's hips rolled against Tia's hand and she slid her tongue into the blonde's mouth again, exploring her cavity with vigor. Nel reached her other hand to press Tia firmer against her breast, the woman's nails digging into her skin. At first the blonde frowned but hearing the deep sigh of pleasure from the girl she understood, and tightened her grip. _Interesting turn of events, _she thought to herself as she almost curiously bit down on Neliel's lip. The girl shivered and responded into the kiss more eagerly, her moans of pleasure getting even louder. Tia's other hand was still busy between Neliel's thighs, now two fingers dipping inside her sex and slowly pumping in and out of her. Neliel was writhing on the bed, her body still propped on her elbows but her arms were shaking. Tia moved her hand from Nel's breast to behind her back and nudged her slightly so she laid down on the mattress. They broke the kiss, Neliel's eyes were now half-lidded and she bit down on her lip as Tia's fingers moved to touch her clit, her other hand was now buried into the girl's hair. The blonde grabbed a handful of the green strands into her fist and carefully pulled on them, making Nel's eyes close and her mouth opened, letting out a keening, lustful sound. Nel's legs wrapped around Tia's thighs and pulled the woman on top of her, their bodies now pressing against each other. Tia kissed Neliel and at the same time tugged on her hair again, earning another high moan from her. The girl's hands were now free and she wrapped them around Tia's waist, sliding down to her ass and squeezing it firmly.

"Feels so good" she managed to whisper into Tia's ear in between their now sloppy kisses. The blonde's tongue dominated her mouth again, her head felt light from all the pleasure. She could feel the familiar knot of heat forming in between her legs, under her navel and her hips pushed against Tia's hand.

"Please don't stop" she wheezed out and her hands moved up to Tia's neck, her fingers burying into the woman's thick hair and pressed her head into the crook of Nel's neck. Tia's lips kissed the sensitive skin under her jaw and neck, sucking gently and then biting bit harder to leave a mark on Nel's flawless skin. The blonde's fingers moved quicker now, flicking around Neliel's clit and then again dipping inside her, making the girl cry out Tia's name.

"Oh Tia please, please don't stop, don't stop…" she begged as her fingers curled into the woman's hair and her hips bucked up. Her legs were shivering and her heels dug into the mattress, trying to delay her orgasm just for few more precious seconds. Finally she felt the knot inside her explode and the tingling, numbing feeling spread from between her thighs down to her legs and upper body, making her breath hitch. Her whole body shook as Tia's fingers still slowly caressed her sex, milking the orgasm until it almost hurt. Neliel's grip on Tia's hair turned into a loving caress and she planted kisses on the woman's face and shoulders as she raised her head up again to meet Nel's eyes. She looked almost blissful, her chest heaving up and down and her mouth hang ajar, her hot breath hitting Tia's sweaty skin. She was quick to capture Tia's lips into a passionate kiss, massaging her own soft lips against hers, wanting Tia to know how much she had enjoyed that.

"That was so good", she finally breathed out. Tia didn't say anything, just smiled at her in the darkness of the room.

"Glad to hear that" she murmured finally as she slowly rolled next to Neliel, her hands lingering on the girl's body. Nel was quick to turn to her side and snuggle against Tia, one hand propping her head up and the other draped across Tia's stomach. Her nimble fingers drew circles on the woman's dark skin, her eyes slowly moved up and down on the blonde's body. She felt so languid it almost made her sleepy but she didn't want to end the night before she had made Tia feel as good as she had. Her hand moved down to Tia's thigh, caressing her hot skin gently. Neliel looked Tia in the eyes and licked her lips slowly, earning a crooked smirk from the woman. She leaned down to kiss her ear and nibbled on her earlobe as her fingers made their way between Tia's thighs.

"You still want to" the blonde hushed to her but opened her legs wider for better access.

"Of course I do" Neliel whispered back and moved down to kiss Tia's neck and jawline, "it's only fair."

"You've been more than fair already" the blonde said smilingly and then groaned as Neliel drew her fingers along her still wet sex. Nel wrapped her leg around Tia's, pulling her legs even wider apart as she prodded her fingers inside her. Her mouth moved down on the woman's skin, licking her collarbone and then latching onto her breast, sucking on her nipple. Tia clenched her teeth and her hands grabbed hold of the sheets beneath her, bundling them into her fists. Neliel pressed her body against Tia's, rubbing against the woman. She slowly moved her other hand behind Tia's back and suddenly flipped the woman on top of her, her hand never leaving her sex. Tia had to push her upper body up on her arms, her breasts dangling right in front of Nel's face. The girl kept sucking on her nipple and pushed Tia's body upwards, sliding down on the bed herself. Her mouth travelled down on Tia's body, gracing over her toned stomach and then dipping her tongue into her navel. Soon Tia was almost sitting on Neliel's chest and the girl kept sliding down until she was again kissing the sensitive skin above her sex. Tia's hand sought for Nel's and grabbed hold of it, squeezing it firmly as the girl sucked on her clit. Neliel's fingers slowly pumped in and out of Tia's sex and her tongue lapped at her folds, tasting the blonde's juices the second time that night. Tia tried to hold herself up so she wouldn't press her whole weight on Neliel's face, but her legs shivered as the girl's quick tongue licked her sex and her fingers massaged her insides. Tia leaned forward and kept herself up on her free hand, still holding onto Neliel's hand with the other. Finally she couldn't stop the moans that rose from her throat and her heavy breathing was accompanied by lustrous cries. She rolled her hips against Neliel's hand and the girl's tongue pressed harder against her clit, massaging it expertly.

"Just…just a little more" she managed to sigh as Neliel hummed quietly, her tongue vibrating slightly and almost making Tia collapse on the bed. She screwed her eyes shut as her legs stated to wobble under her and Neliel sucked on her clit again, making her finally come.

"Mmmhnn, oh fuck" Tia hissed as her orgasm flowed down her legs and up her arms, her body jerked as Neliel did the same she had done to her, prolonging the moment as long as she could. Tia's hand was squeezing hard on Nel's, her fingers almost white. Slowly the girl withdrew her fingers and her licks turned into light kisses as she moved back up on the bed, her lips trailing across Tia's abdomen and between her breasts until she was on level with the blonde again. She gently lowered Tia's body on top of hers and turned them on their side. Tia's hair was stuck to her forehead and her breath was coming in pants. She slowly opened her eyes as Neliel pressed a kiss on her lips, she could taste her own juices on the girl's tongue.

"Thank you" she sighed tiredly. Neliel laughed, the sweet sound made Tia smile. She was already sure she wanted to hear Neliel make that sound every day.

"Don't need to thank me silly" the girl giggled and kissed Tia's forehead, "I was more than happy to."

"Not just that" the blonde said, turning on her back and pulling Neliel slightly on top of her, the girl's head resting on her chest, "for everything." Nel smiled widely and pushed her hair back from her face.

"Like what?"

"Being you, being with me, bringing me along tonight, bringing me here…" Tia listed in a quiet voice, she sounded so gentle and soft Neliel wanted to fall asleep listening to her speak.

"I'm happy you're here" she replied, snuggling herself to Tia's side, their legs entwining, "though I wasn't expecting this, to be frank."

"That makes two of us then." Neliel frowned slightly and looked up to Tia.

"Really?" The blonde arched an eyebrow at her and stroked her hair.

"Yeah, why you ask?" Neliel smiled widely and kissed Tia again.

"I just thought you'd think I'm easy, 'cause, well, you know." It took Tia some time to realize what the girl meant and scoffed, chuckling lowly.

"You really are silly." Neliel shrugged her shoulders and pressed her head back to Tia's chest.

"It's just what everyone else seem to think." Tia wrapped her arms around Neliel's body and kissed her hair.

"Not if I have anything to do with it" she promised. Neliel was glad Tia couldn't see her face right now, she would've probably started crying seeing the woman's genuine eyes.

"Thank you" she mumbled quietly, hugging Tia firmly, "thank you." The blonde hemmed and reached her other hand to pull the covers over them.

"Don't mention it. Just sleep now" she said softly. Neliel nuzzled against Tia and her eyelids suddenly felt very heavy.

"I left the music on" she yawned, hearing the faint sounds of jazz still coming from the living room.

"I'm sure your neighbours won't mind" Tia replied, then chuckled, "at least not after the noise you made earlier."

"Oh shut up."


	6. Chapter 6

_**Sorry for the big pauses in between updates, I haven't been able to wrap my head around this pairing so well that writing it would come easy. And it's already chapter 6, I'm getting slow. Hope you don't mind it too bad. I feel bad enough already, bah!**_

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><p><strong>Chapter 6. <em>Whisper something pretty<em>**

Tia groaned as she felt something cold brush against her leg. She tried to wriggle away but there was something preventing her from moving. As sleep slowly faded away from her brain she started to feel a blunt thumping in her head somewhere around her left temple. Her mouth was dry and her tongue tasted like a small furry animal had died on it. She slowly cracked her eyes open, the room was still dark though some faint rays of sunlight forced themselves through the blinds. Only now she noticed how she couldn't feel her left arm and that the reason she couldn't move her legs was that someone else's legs were tangled with them. As her memory started to kick in again, the images of what had happened last night popped into her head, making her gasp quietly as she glanced at the woman sleeping next to her. The long distinctly green hair, tanned skin, those perfect curves and that beautiful face that looked so cute when she was still asleep.

Tia realized Neliel had been sleeping on her arm and that's why she couldn't feel it. She tried to gently pull away from her but the girl's arm was wrapped around her waist and her grip was like a vice. _She's surprisingly strong, _Tia thought as she finally gave up and just tried to slowly tug her arm free. An inch at a time she finally managed slide it from under Neliel and hissed in a breath as blood started to flow back into it. She flexed her fingers as she looked around the room, most of their clothes were lying all around the floor and the door to the living room was wide open, the stereo had finally stopped playing as the CD had ended.

Tia glanced at Neliel who was still fast asleep, her breathing slow and steady and her chest rising up and down. Tia smiled and pushed back a stray hair from her face, the girl scrunched her nose and nuzzled her head against the pillows. The blonde woman touched the end of Nel's nose before she slowly slid off from the bed and walked to the nearest window, glancing outside between the curtains. She then turned around to look for her watch and found it lying on the floor next to Nel's boots. The sight of the thigh-high boots sent a warm, fuzzy feeling twirling in her stomach as she picked up her watch and slid it on her wrist. It was only quarter past seven, she had the day off and apparently so did Nel, since she worked nights.

Suddenly the thought of her dancing like she had last night to other people made Tia's head feel heavy and the fuzzy feeling turned into a hard ball of barbed wire inside her. Tia had to turn her back to the bed where Neliel was sleeping, completely unaware of the turmoil that was currently tearing Tia's insides and brain. _I can't breathe, _Tia realized and pressed her hand to the chest, her throat felt like there was something stuck inside it, blocking her airways. She quickly ran out of the room and picked the nearest door she guessed for the bathroom. The tiny room had light blue tiles and a miniature tub at the back, but Tia's attention was on the small window high up on the wall. She almost tore it open to let fresh air inside and then slid down to the floor, crawling to the toilet and pushed the seat up. Even the toilet was light blue which was the only thing she could think of as her eyes started to splay.

Neliel frowned as she heard a strange strangling noise coming somewhere from her apartment. With a groan she raised her hand to wipe her face and hissed as she felt her hangover thumping behind her eyes. She slowly opened her eyes and noticing her lack of clothing and the state of the bed, memories slowly started to drip back into her mind. _Oh man, _Neliel thought and wasn't quite sure whether she should be happy or terrified. The night had been beyond all her expectations but given the fact that they both had been very drunk, now, in the light of the day things might had taken a different shape. Neliel heard the toilet being flushed and then water running from the tap, heavy footsteps slowly moving around in the apartment.

_Poor Tia, she's probably not used to drinking like that, _Nel thought as she pushed herself up on the bed, tousling her long hair that was a complete mess after she had slept with all that product in it. She dreaded the moment she'd have to get up and go to the bathroom to take a shower, just for the slight chance that she might catch her own reflection from the mirror. She hadn't even removed her make-up from last night and her face felt tight, her eyes slightly itchy. Neliel heard footsteps coming towards the bedroom and then Tia was standing in the doorway, still very much naked and despite her mussed up hair and slightly bloodshot eyes, she was still every bit as beautiful as Neliel remembered. A wide smile graced Nel's lips as she raised her hand to a small wave.

"Hey" she croaked, then coughed awkwardly hearing how raspy her voice sounded. Tia hemmed softly and smiled back, her blonde hair shadowing her icy blue eyes.

"Hey."

"You feeling okay?" Nel asked, this time sounding bit more like herself. Tia exhaled heavily and ran her hand through her hair.

"Not really no" she finally sighed, her forehead scrunching into a frown as the thumping in her head continued.

"I'm not really feeling that fresh either" Nel joked and slowly laid down on the bed, reaching her hand to Tia, "come back to bed." Nel felt her stomach twist as she noticed how Tia hesitated, clearly she was thinking about leaving. But she gave in and walked to the bed, sliding next to Neliel who pulled the covers over them. Tia pressed her hand on her temples and tried to breathe slowly. Neliel looked at her with an empathetic smile and gently wrapped her arms around Tia's shoulders, stroking her blond locks that were cracking dry from hairspray.

"You have the day off?" she murmured quietly, not wanting her voice to grate Tia's hungover brain.

"Yeah, thank the gods" the blonde replied, her soft low voice even deeper than usual. Neliel instantly felt an almost giddy smile creeping to her face, Tia sounded so sexy and seductive it made her toes curl just to have the woman next to her.

"I'm glad, we can just lie around the whole day" she laughed softly, though a part of her nervously waited for Tia to say no. Instead, the woman just shifted her body into a better position on the bed, her hand snaking around Nel's waist.

"Sounds good" she said and Neliel hid her smile by burying her face into Tia's hair, breathing in her scent that was a mix of sweat, sleep and hairspray.

"So besides the way you're feeling right now, did you have fun?" Neliel asked, slowly starting to relax as she no longer feared Tia would bolt.

"Yeah, yeah I did" the woman replied, sounding bit groggy. Neliel felt a yawn tear open her jaw and batted her eyes to keep the tiredness at bay for little longer.

"I did too" she said but her words were cut off by another yawn, which made her do a high keening sound. Tia chuckled and glanced up at Nel.

"We can just sleep for little while if you're tired." Neliel was going to object but then again, the thought of sleeping next to Tia for some more didn't seem bad at all. Tia shuffled up on the bed so their faces were on level with each other and pulled Nel to her side, the woman instantly nuzzled her body close to hers.

"You're warm" she mumbled as Tia pushed her hair away from her face.

"You got cold feet" the blonde chuckled, earning a slightly offended humph from Neliel.

"Bad circulation, can't help it" she protested as Tia wrapped her own legs around hers.

"Don't worry, I'll try to warm you up." Neliel nearly squealed but managed to control herself and only smiled like an idiot.

"Thanks." Tia waited for few minutes until Nel had fallen asleep, then pecked a quick kiss on her forehead, mumbling sweet nothings under her breath that had never even crossed her mind. Unless she had been certain Neliel was asleep, she probably wouldn't even have said them. _This is so…strange, _she thought as her own eyes slowly closed, _wondrously strange._

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><p>"Hey you, wake up." Tia let out a muffled groan and turned to her side, her hand instinctively trying to grab the duvet to pull it over her head. A light laughter ringed in her ears and she felt someone tugging the duvet away.<p>

"Get up, I'll make breakfast. Eggs and toast, and loads of coffee." The mention of coffee and food in general suddenly made Tia realize how hungry she was, there was a light feeling in her head she always got when she hadn't eaten properly in a while. Still bit reluctantly she turned onto her back and tried to open her eyes carefully. She recognized the strange room from earlier and Neliel's familiar form standing beside the bed, a wry smile on her face. Her hair was tied into a loose ponytail and her face was clean from all the makeup. She was wearing loose sweat pants and tank top, something Tia would've killed for right now. Nel reached down to grab her hand and pulled her into a sitting position.

"You can take a shower and eat after that, I can lend you some clothes if you don't want to walk home in that dress" the woman said and nodded towards the tiny white number that was now folded neatly on a nearby chair, along with the boots and her underwear. Tia nearly cringed thinking she had actually showed up in public dressed like that and Nel seemed to notice it.

"Don't worry, no one probably recognized you" she laughed kindly, her fingers caressing Tia's hand. The blonde hemmed and nodded, the corner of her mouth slightly curving upwards.

"I sure hope so" she retorted as she threw her legs onto the floor, the duvet falling off from her body. Neliel nearly blushed seeing Tia stand there so close, even though she had just slept with her and seen her naked for the whole time but still…Everything seemed so much more real in the light of the day. Somehow more tangible.

"I'll get you a towel, you probably feel quite icky right now" she said turning around just to hide her blushing face from Tia. Despite she took off her clothes for living, there was something in the way Tia carried herself with such nonchalance and ease it made her feel slightly taken aback, she couldn't really tell why. At first she had thought Tia was one of those women who tried to hide their bodies, being tall and muscular but with still womanly curves, it could be a difficult combination to pull off if it went too far. And working in such a male- dominated environment where most of her co-workers were such chauvinistic idiots must've made it so much worse. But now Tia seemed so relaxed and at ease, not even bothering to try and act modest as Neliel gave her the towel, part of her expecting the blonde to immediately wrap it around herself. Neliel was curious but she couldn't deny she enjoyed the view, Tia was just the kind of strong, sexy woman she loved and had always had a thing for. She was that kind of mix of almost masculine strength but balanced with very much womanly grace and beauty it made Neliel swoon. She had always had a thing for tomboys.

"You know your way?" she asked, though it was more of a statement. Tia nodded and just walked out of the bedroom, Neliel staying few steps behind just to admire how Tia walked, the muscles moving agilely under her smooth dark skin, the strong lines of her back and shoulders and her shoulder blades. Neliel didn't have any qualms about her own figure, she couldn't build that much muscle without so much training it would take up all her time so she just settled to her own more soft, curvaceous body that worked for her. But she did enjoy seeing such perfect physique on other people, knowing the person was strong was something that made her legs wobble. _Okay, enough of the creepy staring, you'll probably scare her if she notices, _Neliel scolded herself and walked to the kitchen to make some toast. She heard the water starting to run and tried hard not to imagine Tia in the shower. The mere image almost made her drop her pieces of toast.

Neliel had just managed a patch of toast that wasn't too burned or too undercooked when Tia came out of the shower, this time wearing the towel Nel had given her.

"I put some clothes for you in the bedroom, they're on the bed!" Neliel hollered from the kitchen as she scraped scrambled eggs from the pan into two plates, trying to divide them as evenly as she could. She didn't hear Tia answer, just her footsteps moving towards the bedroom. _The strong, silent type, _she thought to herself with a smile. Nel was pouring coffee into two huge mugs as Tia joined her, now wearing some actual clothes. Nel noticed that despite their slight difference in height and muscle structure, her clothes fitted Tia quite well. Though her ripped midsection was clearly more visible even through the fabric of the top.

"Have a seat" Neliel smiled and gestured at a free chair. Tia sat down by the table, eyeing their breakfast.

"I'm not much of a breakfast cook, sorry" Nel apologized, "but I can cook a good steak, and I make awesome sushi."

"I'd love to try it sometime" Tia noted as she took a piece of toast, buttered it and scooped some eggs on it. Neliel was too busy hiding her excitement caused by Tia's statement to remember what she was doing an almost spilled coffee all over the table. Tia grabbed her wrist just in time before the black liquid started pouring over the edges of the mug.

"Oh, sorry" Nel gasped, "I was miles away, I'm such an airhead…"

"It's fine" Tia interrupted her. Nel stared at her for few seconds, then bounced back quickly with a light laugh. Tia gave her a long look as she nibbled on her toast.

"You laugh a lot" she noted solemnly, effectively making Nel stop giggling. The woman bit her lower lip, not really knowing what to say. Tia was such a difficult person to read sometimes, her short sentences, emotionless expression and those eyes that stared straight into her brain. She wasn't sure whether the woman was interested or trying to intimidate her. Tia reached her hand to brush away a stray strand of hair behind Nel's ear.

"I like it." Neliel felt her rigid posture relax immediately as the woman uttered those words, letting out another laugh.

"You had me there for a minute" she scolded the blonde jokingly as she sat down opposite her.

"Sorry."

"Well, not like that, I just…" Neliel shook her head, "sometimes I'm not sure what you're thinking about."

"And that bothers you?"

"Well, kind yeah." Tia frowned slightly as she sipped her coffee, wrapping her fingers around the steaming cup.

"I…I'm not very used to expressing myself" she said slowly, "quite the opposite really." Neliel hemmed as she bit into her toast, pieces of eggs falling down on her plate.

"I've noticed that." Tia looked at her and this time her eyes showed something close to panic, or fear. _I don't get it, sometimes she shows everything in her eyes and other times...Nothing._

"Is that a problem?" Neliel flashed her a wide beaming smile and leaned over the table to stroke Tia's hair.

"Nah, I like you being all dark and mysterious" she said laughingly as she leaned back and gave Tia a quizzical look, "makes it all the more fun." Tia stared at her for few seconds and then her face split into a wide smile. Neliel had always wondered how a mere smile could transform a person's whole being but especially with Tia, the change was remarkable. _She's so pretty it hurts, _she thought as she drank her coffee, _bet she makes mirrors talk and praise her every time she looks into one. _

The rest of the day and afternoon they spend sitting at the kitchen, drinking more than enough coffee to banish their hangovers and then lied on the couch watching crap TV. Neliel introduced Tia to all the latest reality- TV crap she missed due her own lack of television. She was disgusted but also intrigued, a weird mix of feelings to have while watching people who were clearly too stupid to be left on their own unsupervised. Once it was Nel's time to leave for work Tia insisted on walking with her, at least for part of the journey.

"What if…what if someone sees you?" Neliel asked bit hesitantly as they walked along the road.

"What about it?"

"I mean…With me, you know. People talk." Tia shrugged and tugged her hands into her pockets, Neliel had lent her a hoodie to cover herself up from the cold breeze.

"I know they do. But they talk about me already. They always have." Nel scoffed lightly and flicked her hair back.

"Yeah, I get that too. You should hear some of the rumours that I've heard of myself." Tia raised her eyebrows at Nel.

"Do tell." Nel opened her mouth to say something but then burst into laughter, shaking her head.

"No no, it's too embarrassing."

"Please." Neliel was about to say no again but then noticed the look in Tia's eyes, those icy pearls staring at her with such curiosity and interest it made her feel like a teenage girl who was talking with her first real crush.

"Listen, why don't we go out to eat next week and I'll tell you all about it?" she suggested, "It might be too long of a story to tell now." Tia seemed slightly disappointed at first but then nodded, the thought of spending yet another evening with Nel sounded more than good.

"Just tell me when."

"How about Wednesday, I have the night off" Nel asked as they turned around a corner, the strip club was only few blocks away now.

"Sounds good" the blonde woman agreed, slowing into a halt as they came into the crossroads that would take Nel to her work and Tia back home.

"I'll text you about the details later, I need to do some planning first" Neliel said with a wink. Then she glanced around them on the empty street and then quickly leaned forward to steal a kiss from Tia's lips. As she drew back she enjoyed the look of pleasant surprise on the blonde's face.

"I'll see you around" she said as she climbed on her bike she'd been walking thus far, "lover." The pet name made Tia's cheeks flush and she pulled her shoulders up, turning her face away so Nel could only see the corner of her mouth curling upwards.

"Can't wait" she murmured so quietly Nel could barely hear it. With one last sideways glance Tia started walking back home as Nel hopped on her bike and cycled to work. She couldn't remember the last time she'd been this happy while stepping into the darkened club, she even managed to flash a quick smile to Nnoitra who was working behind the counter. The man gave her a strange glare but she didn't mind, she had much more important things on her mind.

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><p>Yoruichi gave Neliel a curious look as the woman bounced back from the stage, some cheers still could be heard from the other side.<p>

"You're on fire tonight" the smaller woman noted as Neliel sat down by her station with a small twirl. She was still moving to the strong bass beat that sounded from the club, flicking her long hair as she smiled at her reflection. Yoruichi uttered a small laugh as she walked to her, leaning her hands on the back of Nel's chair.

"I assume your date went well?" Neliel looked at Yoruichi through the mirror, a wide smile spreading to her face. Her eyes were twinkling as she winked at Yoruichi, starting to change her clothes.

"You could say that yeah" she replied with a mock- coy tone as she grabbed her nurse's outfit from the pile of clothes beside her table. Yoruichi rolled her eyes and nudged Neliel on the shoulder, then stole a look of herself from the mirror and fixed her bikini.

"You're so telling me all the dirty details after work" she ordered to the woman, who merely giggled and swatted the air with her hand.

"Go already, the crowd's waiting!" Yoruichi stuck her tongue out to her before strutting on the stage. Neliel raised an eyebrow as she walked off and then turned back to the mirror.

"Yeah I'm so bad, bad but I'm so good, good…" she sang along to the song, it was one of Yoruichi's favourites. She had danced to it many times herself, teaming up with Yoruichi on stage to earn some extra cash.

Neliel wriggled into the tight white latex dress and changed her stiletto heels into thigh high white boots, quickly tying her hair into a loose bun. As she was fixing her make-up the backdoor was opened and a smaller woman dashed in, throwing her bag to the floor and running to her table, already taking off her clothes as she ran. Neliel turned around in her chair, looking at the young woman who was changing her clothes with record speed.

"I was thinking where you were" she said to the woman as she casually threw off her own bra to place with a black PVC one.

"Yeah, I had hard time getting off work early, again" the woman replied as she put on such a short leather skirt it could easily be mistaken for a belt, "thanks for filling in for me Nel."

"No problem, I'm having fun tonight" Neliel replied with a light laughter as she continued fixing her make-up, trying to make her fake eyelashes stick. The girl stopped her hasty dressing up for a second to throw a long look at Nel who was humming along to the music.

"Good that someone is" she muttered as she turned to her own mirror, glaring critically at her reflection, "you mind fixing my hair for me, I don't have time for it."

"Sure thing" Nel said and propped herself up, striding across the small room and grabbing a large bottle of hair spray on the way, "the usual?"

"Yeah if you would" the woman sighed as she rummaged through the mass of make-up on her table, "where the hell is that eyeliner?"

"Yoruichi might've taken it, she was feeling feline tonight" Nel said as she started to tease the woman's cropped black hair, "you can borrow mine."

"Thanks Nel, you're a saint" Rukia sighed as she finally started applying foundation on her face and neck, "Yoruichi's is a fucking leech." Neliel laughed again, spraying hairspray into the smaller woman's hair and eyed it critically before continuing.

"What's got you so upbeat tonight?" Rukia asked her as she patted powder on her face and started to dab some glitter on her cheeks and shoulders. Neliel shrug her shoulders as she concentrated on the girl's hair.

"I dunno, I'm just having a good day I suppose."

"Oh yeah, why is that?" The woman gave her a wry smile through the mirror, earning a frown from Rukia.

"Now you're being mysterious. What is it?" Nel arched an eyebrow at her and leaned closer to her face.

"If I tell you, will you finally tell the real reason you're doing this?" Rukia's face froze for a second and then she shook her head as much as she could with Nel still holding the comb in her hair.

"Fine, I didn't care anyway." Nel hummed and straightened back up, turning her attention back to Rukia's hair. The girl had started applying heavy eye-makeup on her lids, her small hand steady as she peered at her reflection. Neliel swung her hips to the music, nodding her head to the beat.

"Close your eyes" she said to Rukia as she started to spray hairspray over her backcombed hair. The girl screwed her eyes and held her breath as the aerosol filled the air, sticking to her hair and making it stiff. Nel waved her hand in front of her face and coughed few times as she took few steps back.

"There you go" she declared and put the hairspray down, admiring her handiwork. Rukia's usually sleek bobcut was now ruffled into a huge messy afrolike do, making her look like a goth princess combined with her skimpy leather outfit and dark makeup. The girl quickly applied few heavy coats of mascara before jumping up from her chair and doing a twirl in front of the mirror to get a good look at herself.

"Okay?" she asked Neliel who nodded smilingly.

"You look scary" she laughed, "in a sexy way though." Rukia grinned at her, tousling her hair even further. The song finally started to change and they could hear clapping and cat calls from the club's side. Soon Yoruichi strutted to the backstage, bank notes sticking from her bikini bottoms. Sweat was gleaming on her dark skin, strands of hair sticking to her forehead. She nodded a quick greeting to Rukia before walking to her station and patted her face with a tissue.

"Damnit it's hot in there" she huffed, fanning her face with her other hand.

"You're just taking it too hard" Nel quipped, sitting back to her chair. Rukia gave herself one last look before she walked onto the stage.

"Break a leg!" Neliel shouted after her, earning a quick smile from the girl just before the curtains closed after her. Yoruichi shook off her own bikini, collecting her tips on her table. She counted the notes and nodded approvingly, quickly hiding the money into her handbag that was on her table.

"Has Nnoitra been around tonight?" she asked Neliel as the woman made some final additions to her make-up.

"He was at the bar when I came in" she replied and tugged on her dress' neckline, making her breasts almost plunge out.

"Hey, leave something to reveal" Yoruichi noted laughingly, earning a raised an eyebrow from Neliel.

"You mean like you do?" she asked, slowly eyeing the half-naked woman from head to toe. Yoruichi glanced down at her body and uttered a laugh.

"Well this just proves me point" she replied laughingly and winked at Nel.

"When do you get off?" Yoruichi asked as she started to change her clothes.

"At two, how about you?"

"Oh I get off at one but I can hang around and wait for you, we have some gossiping to do" the woman said with another wink. Neliel laughed but nodded at her.

"Alright, I'll see you at the back once I'm done, okay?"

"It's a date babe" Yoruichi said and blew her a kiss, which Nel caught by pursing her lips at her.

"But now I need a drink, I'm getting dehydrated here" the smaller woman exhaled and grabbed her water bottle from the dressing table, quickly disappearing into the hallway. Neliel stretched her arms above her head and then carefully raised her leg on her chair and then stretched, trying to avoid tearing her tight dress in the process. She was just stretching her other leg when she heard her cell phone beeping in her purse and quickly rummaged through it to find the phone. She tapped the message open and allowed herself a wide smile as she noticed it was from Tia. She was almost too lost in replying to the message that when Rukia came back to the backroom she didn't even notice it. The smaller woman snapped her fingers to get Neliel's attention, making the woman snap her head up from the text.

"You're up Nel" Rukia exhaled as she kicked off her boots and threw her clothes on her chair. Neliel nodded and quickly finished the message before throwing the phone back into her purse and strutted into the stage.

"Some crowd tonight" Rukia noted just as Neliel tousled her hair before walking out. Nel raised her eyebrows but didn't say anything, she was too busy thinking about the text she had just got and it made her smile even wider. Rukia gave her an incredulous look but said nothing, if she wanted to keep her private stuff to herself she had to know others would the same to her. She sat to her dressing table, staring at her reflection not really knowing what to think. She looked so foreign, with her hair like this and the makeup, the lack of clothes. _Not exactly what I had planned for, _Rukia mused as she started to wipe off the heavy eyeliner and dapped more powder on her cheeks and nose.

She stopped to count her tips and a faint smile flashed on her face. _Just few more months and that's it, that's really it. _Rukia shuddered as she thought of yet another night of parading half-naked in front of strange men, every night fearing she'd see a familiar face and the consequences of that…She didn't even want to think about the possibility. _I've made it this far, what's the point of backing out now? _Rukia stacked her tips into her jacket's breast pocket and continued with fixing her make-up, trying to concentrate on keeping her hand steady as she applied her eyeliner. She was just changing into another dress as Neliel hopped back from the stage, her white nurse's outfit gone and she was only wearing her boots and thong. Her hair was down and sweat gleamed on her skin. She walked to her table and sat down to take off her boots, exhaling heavily but still with a smile on her face.

Rukia always tried to avoid looking at the other women for too long, especially at work since it only made her feel so uncomfortably self-conscious it made her head explode and she just wanted to curl into a fetal position in some corner. She usually didn't even think about her own body that way, to her it had always just been something of a tool, something that worked without her really thinking about it. So she had thought that maybe stripping wouldn't be so bad, it was just showing people something that didn't really mean anything to her, Rukia had always cared more for the things one couldn't see by looking at a person. But she knew now that it had been incredibly naïve of her to think it wouldn't affect her, that it wouldn't change the way she thought of herself, and other women as well. _And mostly men, _she thought as she laced up her boots. She had come across some chauvinistic womanizers in her life but had been mostly spared from such attention, she had male friends who all were great and kind and treated her like a person instead of a girl or a woman, so her experiences with men had been mostly positive.

But she hadn't thought that even though these men who came into places like this, they might've been absolutely charming and normal in the outside world but as soon as they stepped in here it didn't matter, they came here because they didn't need to be charming, they didn't need to act like normal human being and show respect towards women. They could act as crude as they wanted, the girls here wouldn't mind. _Or at least we're not allowed to show it, _Rukia thought and slammed her powder on the table her hands shaking with anger. Nel arched an eyebrow at her and Rukia tried to laugh it off, failing miserably.

"Just the adrenaline pumping" the smaller woman explained, her hand balling into a tight fist so it would stop shaking. Neliel looked at her with warm eyes and got up from her chair, walking over to Rukia and suddenly Rukia was wrapped into a tight hug, Nel's long hair tickled her nose and she could smell the mix of sweat and over-sweet perfume. First she wanted to push Nel away but then she noticed she was only grabbing tightly onto the woman's arm, trying to stop the tears that burned in her eyes. Neliel stroked her hair and whispered something comforting into her ear in a hushed tone, slowly making her calm down.

"Sorry" Rukia mumbled as Neliel drew away, her gentle hands still lingering in Rukia's tousled hair.

"You wanna come for drinks with me and Yoruichi after work?" the woman asked with a small smile. Rukia indented to say no but then realized these were the only people she could talk about this, the only people who even knew. And right at the moment, as she had realized she might not be as strong as she thought she was, Rukia was in a desperate need of a shoulder to cry on.

"Sure" she nodded and even managed a smile, "sounds good."

* * *

><p><em>First time ever writing from Rukia's POV. I used to dislike her quite a lot (as some of my more frequent readers may know) but for some reason I wanted to put her into this, I'm not sure how well I did with her since it was my first try with her. Sounds kinkier than it is. And yes, it is highly relevant to the story *cough*.<em>


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7. **_**Life gets in the way**_

Rukia had just walked out of the club into the breezy night and was patting her pockets for a cigarette to calm down her nerves when her eyes spotted two familiar forms sitting in the diner across the street. Yoruichi and Neliel were sitting on a table by the window, they looked so different in full clothing and without their stage makeup. Rukia remembered Nel's invitation to join them for drinks and how she had accepted it during her moment of weakness. It had seemed such a good idea at the time, a chance to pour your heart out to someone who understood but now, standing in the alleyway after hours of gyrating half-naked in front of strange men, the last thing she wanted to do was to think about it more. Rukia was just about to just sneak away and head home when Neliel turned her head to the window and noticed Rukia standing outside, and waved to her with that thousand megawatt smile on her face. _Too late to run away now, _Rukia sighed mentally as she waved back with slightly less enthusiasm and dragged her feet across the road to join the two women.

Once Rukia stepped inside the diner, she was met with the smell of greasy homemade food and warmth that spread from the big ovens at the back. Already she felt bad for even considering running away, she felt like she could eat a horse and back home she couldn't had even sneaked into the kitchen without waking up her brother. Just going out every night this late was bit of a hassle to her but she had managed to make up somewhat believable excuses thus far. Neliel bid her to come sit at their table and she obliged. Nel moved on the seat to make room for her.

"Glad you could make it" she said as Rukia sat down, placing her bag on the floor under the table. Yoruichi raised an eyebrow at her and took a sip from her milkshake.

"Do you want something to eat? They make really good pancakes here" Neliel asked, she had a plateful of the said delicates in front of her.

"Yeah sure" Rukia said casually, even though her stomach was churning just from the smell of food. Nel waved to the waiter at the counter and the young man quickly walked over to them, wiping his hands on his greasy apron.

"You want something?" he asked Rukia, and she was bit taken aback by his bluntness. Yoruichi chuckled and whisked her straw at the young man.

"You should treat paying customers with little more respect, Shiro- chan" she grinned at the waiter. The young man narrowed his big turquoise eyes at her and then quickly ducked as the woman reached to tousle his strangely white hair.

"No touching" he hissed at her and took a step back, moving his eyes back to Rukia, "so, you wanted to order anything, miss?" Rukia heard Neliel giggle softly beside her and tried to think straight.

"Umm, yeah, some pancakes" she mumbled, earning an amused look from Yoruichi.

"Anything else?" the young man asked, seemingly disinterested in his job. Rukia felt slightly insulted and tried to peer at the menu that was written over the counter.

"Ah, yes, a strawberry milkshake and some toast with eggs please" she added with a slightly sardonic smile. The waiter just nodded and turned to walk to the kitchen.

"You're not gonna write that down, Shiro?" Yoruichi hollered after the boy, who just scoffed at her without even looking back and walked through the swinging doors into the kitchen.

"What's his problem?" Rukia asked laughingly as she turned back to her co-workers.

"He's just in that age" Yoruichi shrugged and swirled her straw in her milkshake, "young boys get like that in the presence of beautiful women at some point." Neliel rolled her eyes and chomped down a huge piece of her pancake.

"Toushiro just doesn't like being teased, we come here almost every day so he's had enough of us already" she explained to Rukia and licked her lips clean from maple syrup, "he's a serious young man." Nel imitated Toushiro's stern expression and Yoruichi laughed, but quieted down as Toushiro came back with Rukia's order.

"There you go" he said as he placed the plates in front of her, "everything okay for now?"

"Yes, thank you Toushiro" Neliel said before Yoruichi had a chance to open her big mouth again.

"Good" Toushiro replied and walked back to the counter. Rukia didn't wait one more second to tuck into her portion, slicing pieces of pancake and dipping them into the glistening syrup before downing them near ravenously. Neliel smiled as she watched the young woman gobble down her late dinner.

"Rough night?" she asked as Rukia switched to her toast, piling scrambled eggs on it. She shrugged as she tried to take a bite of the toast without making a mess.

"Yeah, a bit, I had a long day" she replied, "no time for a break."

"Yep, some weeknights are weird" Yoruichi noted, sipping the last bits of her milkshake, "I'm just glad the wedding season is over, one more stag party and I would've lost it."

"I thought you liked the easy money" Neliel remarked as she tore a piece of pancake and ate it with her fingers, licking the syrup from them.

"Well yeah, but there's only so many stupid young kids I can bare. They almost make me miss the regulars" Yoruichi said with a light chuckle.

"Oh, like that sweaty businessman who always gives shitty tips even though he drives a BMW? Yeah, what a nice guy" Rukia scoffed in between pancakes and toast.

"Or that homeless guy who only comes for the warmth and just stares at your feet? Creepy" Neliel said and shivered just from the thought.

"Or that huge weird guy with the spiky hair and sunglasses, who stares at you straight in the eye if you go close enough" Rukia added, "oh my God, I once went over to him since he looked like he'd have the money to give good tips, I just lost my nerve in the middle of the sentence, he's fucking terrifying!" Yoruichi and Nel laughed, they knew the man in question and Rukia's description was dead on.

"Alright, alright, but there are some nice guys too" Yoruichi retorted, "like that sweet old man who says I look like his deceased wife and just wants me to sit down and talk with him about his day, he always buys me a drink too."

"Don't you think that's bit creepy that he thinks you look like his dead wife?" Neliel asked with a grimace, "I'd be scared that her spirit would come and haunt me." Rukia snorted into her milkshake, almost spilling it from her nose.

"Oh you're just jealous because he likes me and not you" Yoruichi said and stuck out her tongue. All three women giggled in unison and settled back to their food. After Yoruichi had fished out the last strawberry from her glass she leaned back on her seat, spreading her arms across the back of the bench, staring intently at Neliel.

"So", she started ominously, "time to spill the beans. Where did you two end up last night?" Rukia frowned and glanced at Neliel, who was now trying to hide her blushing face behind her veil of hair.

"We, um, we left the club and went to my place" she replied, her voice betraying her wide smile, "and, well, she stayed over." Yoruichi grinned and suddenly leaned closed, folding her arms on the table.

"And? What did you do to her?" she asked, wagging her eyebrows suggestively. Neliel tried to give Yoruichi a harsh look from under her brow but failed as her smile ruined the effect.

"It's none of your business" she sneered, the smile still breaking through her voice.

"Hah!" Yoruichi jeered and reached her hand to ruffle Nel's hair, "With that look on your face, I can guess everything." She took a long good look at her friend, her eyes narrowing cunningly. Then she smiled again, looking victorious. She slammed her hand on the table and then wagged her finger at Nel.

"You did the police routine to her, didn't you?" she concluded and leaned back with a smug smirk on her face. Neliel snorted and hid her face again, blush burning her face. Yoruichi laughed again and drummed her hands on the table.

"I knew it, I knew it!" she jeered and did a little victory dance on her seat, earning similarly curious looks from both Rukia and the young waiter who was now wiping the counter clean with an old rag. Yoruichi tousled her own hair and lolled her head to the side, giving a smiley look to Neliel. Rukia's eyes were darting between the two women and she shyly raised her hand up.

"Um, what's all this about?" she asked warily, not wanting to step into a territory that wasn't her business. She was bit awkward in social situations, a strange trait for a stripper to have but nevertheless. She had never had many friends and was quite reserved herself so being suddenly in the middle of a conversation which apparently concerned an absent third party she knew nothing about and dealt with some very private matters of Neliel, Rukia was way out of her depth. But to her surprise Neliel merely turned to her with that same beaming smile on her face, her eyes twinkling with joy.

"There's this…woman I've met, we went out last night with Yoruichi and Rangiku. We…We had a fun night."

"And that's not all you had, now is it Nel?" Yoruichi bantered on, reaching to punch Neliel playfully on her shoulder, "Come on, tell the dirty details already, I'm dying here!"

"I'm sure your dirty imagination would make up better stories than the reality" Nel retorted but gave in anyway, "alright, so we went back to my place, and at first it was bit awkward, you know, I don't really know her that well and, she's just so…I don't know, it's so hard to read her sometimes, I'm just completely going on a whim half the time" Neliel said and sighed, twirling a strand of her hair around her fingers, "I don't know, sometimes she breaks through and just looks so lost and confused, I think it's her past and her work, she can't really be herself in that place, and those men are all just…Ugh, I'm glad she has Shunsui to look after her." Rukia was still confused, she had even forgot her food as she tried to connect the dots.

"Um, where does she work then? And who's Shunsui?"

"Oh, sorry, I forget that you're new" Nel laughed, stroking Rukia's hair in passing, "Tia is the woman I'm seeing at the moment, she just moved into town and she's a cop. Shunsui is a detective at the same force."

"Oh, okay, sorry, do continue" Rukia said and took a sip of her milkshake.

"Right, so, anyway, I managed to make her stay in the end and…Well, things got bit heated…" Nel's voice trailed off as she tried to let the others fill in the gaps themselves. But Yoruichi wasn't satisfied.

"Nope, you gotta bring it all to the table. How did she react to your little show, 'cause I knew you did one and don't try to lie to me" the woman scolded her. Nel moaned in frustration and glanced at the counter where Toushiro was busying himself with sweeping the floors.

"Well, she didn't hate it" Nel finally said, "and well, we continued in the bedroom and…Oh, I'm not gonna say any more, you know what happened!" Yoruichi pouted at her but gave in, the diner wasn't exactly the best venue for such intimate conversation, plus they had some extra audience that might not want to hear all the details. Rukia was slightly flushed, she wasn't used to have this kind of conversation out in the open, with strange people within earshot. _Now I know why Toushiro doesn't like them, _she mused as she finished her toast, wiping her buttery fingers on a napkin.

"Alright, so what about this morning? You said she stayed over" Yoruichi pressed on, her curiosity still not satisfied. For once Nel had seemingly bagged a good catch and she wanted to know everything. Plus the woman in question was such a complete mystery to her she wanted to find out whether Neliel had made progress in decoding that strange female.

"Well, I made breakfast, we hung out, then she walked me to work…And we're gonna have dinner on Wednesday" Nel smiled. Yoruichi cooed and even Rukia managed a smile, it was so obvious Neliel was stricken with this woman and her happiness was of the contagious kind.

"D'awww, just like a real couple, how sweet" Yoruichi purred, earning another shy smile from Nel.

"But how was your night, did you hook up with anybody?" Neliel asked, trying to change the subject away from her personal life. Yoruichi hummed and raised a meaningful eyebrow.

"Well, by the time you were gone, Rangiku had found some lovely company and I was left to my own devices. So I grabbed some guy along and had my usual fun." The woman shrugged nonchalantly, strengthening her reputation as a full-blown man eater. Rukia wasn't sure whether to be impressed or frown upon her promiscuity. _Don't really think you have any kind of say in this, you do take off your clothes for money. _

"So nothing special there" Nel concluded, then moved her attention to Rukia, "so lil' Rukia, you have any adventures to share?" The young woman tried not to choke on her pancakes as her mind raced for a way out of the question.

"Umh, I, no, I have a very boring life" she laughed forcedly but could see she was fooling nobody.

"Oh come on now, cut the crap already" Yoruichi said, then gave her a sly look, "I happen to know a thing or two about you already…Kuchiki." Rukia was glad she had put down her cutlery, otherwise she would've probably stabbed herself with a fork. She hadn't told her real surname to anyone at work, working under an alias was quite common for strippers and in this case it was more than important for her to shield her real identity. If not for her sake, then for her family's. _Byakuya is going to kill me if he finds out, _Rukia could feel cold sweat sliding down her neck, her pulse racing. Yoruichi could sense her anxiety and laughed, reaching to slap the young woman on her shoulder.

"Oh come on, you look like I just kicked your puppy to death. I'm not gonna tell anyone, don't worry" she said with a wink, "I have a few secrets of my own I don't want to be spread around town as well." Rukia could feel her whole body relaxing but only slightly, she didn't know Yoruichi well enough to trust her fully at this point.

"Don't worry Rukia, Yoruichi won't tell on you. Though I have no idea what you're even talking about" Nel noted.

"Our girl here" Yoruichi said helpfully, "is the heiress of the Kuchiki family, who happen to be multibillionaires. You've probably seen her brother on the cover of the news sometimes, that serious looking guy with long black hair, nee?"

"Oh him!" Neliel exclaimed, "Oh yeah, he's hot." Nel gave Rukia a quick apologetic look.

"Sorry Rukia, no offense." The young woman sighed, waving her hand dismissively, her appetite suddenly gone.

"None taken, I get that. A lot."

"Bet you do" Yoruichi chuckled, earning a stern glare from Rukia.

"That doesn't give you the right to say that, it's weird."

"Alright, fine, as long as you tell us what's your story." Rukia gritted her teeth as she cursed her bad luck, this had been a bad decision after all. Neliel noticed her internal struggle and gently wrapped her arm around her slim shoulders.

"Come on Rukia, it must be really hard trying to live a double life all the time. It might help if you just have few people who you can rely on, we're here for you." She glanced at Yoruichi for support.

"Oh hell yeah, girl power all the way" the woman cheered, doing a celebratory fist pump to strengthen her words. Rukia scoffed at Yoruichi's exaggerated response but said nothing of it, light mocking was still better than nothing.

"Alright" she finally sighed, though the twinkle in Yoruichi's eyes wasn't exactly reassuring, "just as long as you keep it all to yourselves."

"We swear" Neliel was quick to say, "cross my heart and hope to die." Rukia almost laughed at the sudden solemn looks on Nel's and Yoruichi's faces as they raised their right hands in the air as if they were swearing in court. They then looked at Rukia with anticipation so she would begin her story. With a deep inhale Rukia relaxed and for a second thought how far back she should go.

"Okay, you ready, 'cause I don't want you to interrupt me while I'm talking?" she asked and as the two nodded, she began.

* * *

><p>"Oi, Harribel." Tia drew back her arms and secured her weapon as she heard someone's muffled voice calling her name. She pushed her headphones back as she turned to see who it was. To her surprise Mayuri was standing behind her, the strange forensics detective who always stayed cooped up in his own office.<p>

"What is it?" Tia asked as she stepped out from the shooting booth.

"Kyoraku wants to see you" Mayuri said, sucking on his yellowy teeth. Tia cocked an eyebrow as she laid down her gun, usually Shunsui always came to her in person.

"Did he say what it was about?" she asked taking off her headphones. Mayuri scoffed and lolled his head from side to side.

"Like I'd care" he said, "just told me to get you." He stared Tia straight in the eyes, his piercing gaze was slightly unsettling.

"Are you gonna go to him, because if you don't he'll come harass me again and I don't like to be disturbed while I'm working." Tia felt as if she was being interrogated but ignored Mayuri's strangeness and squeezed past him, walking promptly out of the shooting range. She ran her hands through her hair as she walked along the corridors, trying to think of a reason why Shunsui wanted to see her. She hadn't really had a chance to see him lately, they had both been busy and in different shifts, plus the last week she had been preoccupied with thoughts of Neliel to really even think of anyone else.

Suddenly Tia felt embarrassed, maybe that was it. Maybe she had ignored Shunsui for so long the man thought she needed to be summoned to his office if he wanted to talk to her. _I'm such a bitch, ignoring my friends the second I get a girlfriend. _Tia almost walked into an open door as she realized what she had thought. _A girlfriend. _Tia smiled to herself, she had never had a real girlfriend, some random girls maybe but no one she would've actually dated or seen more than few times at some club during her teenage years. And even those cases she had brushed off as experiments if anyone had asked about them. For teenage girl it was somewhat allowed to experiment with one's sexuality but actually being into women was something else completely. Hence all the make-believe boyfriends and burying oneself into work.

Tia came to Shunsui's office and knocked on his door, almost immediately hearing the man's voice telling her to come in. Tia opened the door and had to cover her mouth as the cigarette smoke stung her throat. Shunsui was sitting behind his desk, his legs on the table and the ashtray was already spilling from cigarette butts.

"Oh sorry" he muttered as Tia waved her hand in front of her face to get rid of the smoke and leaned back to open the window. Soon the office was somewhat clearer and Shunsui gestured for Tia to sit down.

"Haven't seen your pretty face for a while, what have you been up to?" he asked as soon as Tia got comfortable. The woman shrugged and looked around in the office, it was pretty messed up. Papers were lying on every flat surface, cabinets spilling with drawers that didn't close properly, dirty coffee cups and old slices of bread, candy wrappers, the lot.

"Do you ever clean around here?" she asked as Shunsui rolled to the other side of his office to pour himself a cup of coffee from the ancient coffee machine.

"No need to, it's called controlled chaos" he said with a smile as he rolled back with his chair, "you want some?" Tia shook her head, crossing her legs and folding her hands in her lap.

"Was there something you wanted to talk to me about, Mayuri seemed bit pissed off."

"When isn't he pissed off by something?" Shunsui chuckled as he tasted his coffee and grimaced at the bitter taste. Tia raised an eyebrow at the man, she knew Shunsui could dance around a subject as long as he liked but she didn't have the patience for games right now.

"Shunsui" she said, "you wanted to see me." The man raised his eyes to Tia and sighed softly, a smile still on his face.

"Yes, yes I did", he replied, "and I did have something I wanted to talk to you about." Tia leaned backwards in the chair, eyebrows still raised in anticipation.

"I just received some information about some worrying activity in the docks" Shunsui started, "and I wanted you to go check it out. You can take Ganju along if you want to." Tia thought about the well-meaning but little too brash young officer who was bit too eager to get in some action.

"What kind of activity?"

"Human trafficking by the looks of it, some young foreign-looking girls have been spotted in the street corners with some big hulking guys watching over them. They come in the docks these big crates like cattle and are shepherded along the streets for profit. It's nothing new but this time they're not even trying to hide it. From what I hear, more girls are coming every week, they wear them out pretty quickly." Shunsui looked at Tia who had squeezed her hands into fists, her eyes almost bristling.

"I'd send someone else for this but you know how the men are, it might get messy." Tia nodded slowly, sex trafficking was nothing new in this city but it made her skin crawl with disgust. The story was always the same, young gullible girls were lured in with false promises of work and a brighter future only to end up selling themselves in the streets or stripping in drug lairs.

"I'll look into it" she said, "but can I take someone else with me? I don't think Ganju would be suitable for this." Shunsui agreed, he had suggested Ganju because he was the least corrupt of his officers, partly because of his background, and got along with Tia.

"Yes, you might be right. Who did you have in mind?" Tia tapped her fingers against the chair's arm.

"Can I take Yumichika?" Shunsui frowned at first but then nodded, the young man was more used to desk work but could handle his own in the streets if need be.

"Yes of course, go ahead. He should be doing some filing right about now." Tia got up from her chair, the legs scraping the floor.

"You want me to start right away?"

"If you could, I'd want to get to the bottom of this as soon as possible. The more we know, the better." Tia turned to walk out and get Yumichika when Shunsui called her name.

"By the way Tia" the man said, now smiling more genuinely, "how was your night?" Tia's lips twitched into a small smile before she caught herself.

"It was…good." Shunsui's smile widened and he gave Tia a wink.

"Glad to hear that. Tell her my love." Tia rolled her eyes at him before walking out, still fighting the smile that was trying to take over her face. She quickly made her way through the narrow corridors until she came to the archives, the door was slightly ajar and she could hear someone humming to themselves inside. She opened the door and peered inside, spotting the man she was looking for between two high shelves.

"Oi, Yumi!" The man swirled around, holding a large pile of papers in his arms.

"Well hi there gorgeous, what's up?"

"I need to go on a stake-out, wanna come with? Or do you prefer it here with the dusty old tomes and spilling shelves?" Yumichika pursed his lips and tilted his head to one side, seemingly pondering the offer. Then he just dropped the files in his lap to the floor and dusted his shirt, he had rolled up his sleeves and loosened his tie which he now fixed as he walked over to Tia.

"I thought you'd never ask" Yumichika smirked at her as she gave him way, "where are we going?"

"To the docks, someone's trafficking young girls for prostitutes." Yumichika arched an eyebrow at this, rolling down his sleeves as they walked towards the backdoors where they could pick up a car.

"So nothing new there then. Have they gotten too bold this time?"

"Sounds like it, Shunsui asked me personally to go and have a look."

"Selling sex wasn't a crime the last time I checked" Yumichika noted as they walked out and chose one of the police cars parked in a row.

"If there's no pimping or human trafficking involved but apparently these girls come in crates, shipped from some little villages in the east, with some gorillas watching over them. That sound legal to you?" Tia asked as she jumped into the driver's seat. Yumichika shrugged as he sat on the passenger's side and put on his seat belt.

"Okay, you're right, just trying another perspective that's all."

"Very noble thinking but in this town I highly doubt it." Tia was just steering the car into the street when her mobile went off in her pocket.

"Ah shit…" she mumbled as she quickly changed gears and then tried to fish the phone out. Yumichika gave her a long look as she glanced at the screen and immediately smiled, a rare sight.

"Hi, can't really talk now, I'm at work" Tia quickly answered, her voice low and softer than usual.

"Yeah, sounds fine…See you then, bye." She hung up and put the phone back into her pocket, then noticed how her partner was staring at her with a wicked smile on his face.

"What?"

"Who was that?" Yumichika asked slyly. Tia scoffed and kept her eyes on the road.

"Why do you care?"

"Isn't it obvious? I want to meet the person who can make our ice queen smile like that" the man replied laughingly, earning a harsh glare from Tia and a swift punch on his shoulder.

"Ow, are you always this rough with people who're trying to be friendly?"

"You're confusing friendly with nosey."

"Oh c'mon, just tell me. Who's the lucky gal?" Tia almost stomped on the break and her eyes widened. Yumichika laughed again and winked at her.

"So I was right on that one after all. Just tell me the rest too Tia." Tia weighed on asking how the hell Yumichika knew but then again, she had her own suspicions on the man himself.

"First work, then play, alright? Gotta be focused here" she said sternly, "besides, it's still none of your business." The man raised his hands up in defeat, the smile still on his face.

"Alright, alright, take your time" Yumichika said, "just thought you'd want to share some good news for a change." Tia couldn't argue with that. Her shoulders relaxed and she flashed a quick smile to Yumichika.

"Maybe you're right. But still, we have work to do." Yumichika nodded and crossed his arms behind his head, settling comfortably on his seat.

"Well you'd better step on it so we can get this thing over with." Tia complied, the tires screeched as the car rumbled into life and sped towards the darkened docks.


	8. Chapter 8

_**I'm still bit out in the woods with this story, hence the lack of updates. But I hope you like it despite its countless flaws.**_

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><p><strong>Chapter 8. <em>You've trapped my attention<em>**

Yumichika and Tia parked their car when they neared the docks and decided to continue on foot, not wanting to alarm all the possible crooks lurking in the area. Yumichika stretched his arms above his head and yawned loudly as they walked under the dim streetlights. Tia kept her hand on her belt near her weapon, ready to draw it out if someone decided to jump on them. After turning a corner they could see the lights from a corner bar shining on the street and Tia noticed a small form shivering near an alleyway. As they came closer, she could see it was a young girl barely in her twenties, shuddering in her skimpy clothing and tottering in her high heels. Her heavy make-up and lack of clothing made Tia instantly think of Neliel and her chest tightened, her hand balling into a tight fist. Yumichika leaned closer to her to whisper into her ear.

"You think that's one of them? She certainly looks underage."

"Could be yeah" Tia replied in a low tone, her eyes darting along the streets to see if there was anyone keeping a watch on the girl.

"Should we go and have a chat with her? She looks so sad" Yumichika pouted his mouth at the sight.

"Alright, but keep your eyes open, she might not be alone."

"I know, I wasn't born yesterday."

They approached the girl slowly, trying their best to look as non- threatening as possible while wearing their police uniforms. The girl's head turned their way as they came closer and for a second it looked like she was going to make a run for it. But then she slightly relaxed and eyed them nervously, holding her arms to her chest.

"Hi there" Tia said to her in a warm tone, trying to sound as friendly as she could, "do you have a minute?"

"Whaddya want?" the girl snapped, though she sounded more frightened than aggressive.

"It's okay, you're not in trouble. We just wanna have a chat" Yumichika assured her, smiling softly. Tia tried to memorize the girl's appearance for later, she had long olive green hair and she was good foot shorter than Tia, her slim frame was barely covered by her denim shorts and cropped t-shirt.

"What's your name?" she asked the girl whose eyes were darting between Tia and Yumichika, trying to figure out which of them posed a bigger threat. She stared at Tia for good few seconds before answering.

"Sun-Sun."

"I'm Tia" the blonde woman said and offered the girl her hand to shake, "and this is Yumichika. We wanted to ask some questions if you don't mind."

"What's in it for me?" Sun-Sun asked before she tentatively took Tia's hand. The officers exchanged quick looks and then Tia turned back to the girl.

"You look like you could use some food. How about we buy you dinner and then we'll talk?" The girl frowned, clearly wanting to say she'd rather take the money but Tia knew she was hungry and cold and getting to sit inside with a free meal sounded more lucrative than standing on the street waiting to be picked up.

"Okay, but if I don't like what you're asking, I'm not gonna say anything" she insisted, to which Yumichika and Tia nodded.

"Fine by us" Yumichika said, "now, let's go get you something to eat, you look famished." The girl sneered but complied and they started walking back up the street where there was a small diner.

There were only two other people in the diner when they stepped inside. The two men at the counter turned their heads to the door and clearly tensed up as they noticed the uniforms. But as Tia and Yumichika merely strolled to the corner table and paid no attention to them, the men stayed put, though they made quick work of their pints and then left. The girl wrung her hands in her lap as a waitress walked to their table, an older woman wearing greasy-stained apron and a half-burned cigarette hanging from her mouth.

"You wanna order?"

"Just coffee, thanks" Tia said as she took off her hat, shaking her head to tousle her hair.

"Same here" Yumichika said, glancing at the girl, "you know what you want?" The waitress turned to Sun-Sun, who answered to her bored glare with defiance.

"Pancakes with strawberries, and cream. And a vanilla milkshake." The waitress scoffed but scribbled the orders down to her small notebook and then left, walking into the kitchen that was at the back of the diner.

"So, what do you wanna know?" the girl asked once they were alone. Tia folded her arms on the table, her icy blue eyes staring straight at the girl. Sun-Sun shifted awkwardly in her seat, the woman's glare was making her nervous. She had thought she could fool them easily enough but now she wasn't so sure anymore.

"We've been hearing some rumours" Tia started, "about girls being brought to the docks in crates. Young girls, younger than you, made to sell themselves on the streets for money. You know anything about that?" Sun-Sun tried to utter a dry laugh but it stuck to her throat as Tia raised an eyebrow at her.

"Ah, I…I really can't say" she mumbled, lowering her head, her hair dropping from her shoulders to cover her face. Tia and Yumichika glanced at each other and Tia leaned back, letting Yumichika take over for the moment.

"You don't have to be scared, if you can tell us something useful we can protect you" the man said softly, reaching his hand to stroke the girl's shoulder and brush back her hair. First the girl flinched but then relaxed, almost leaning into the soft touch.

"I…I don't know much, honestly" she said, raising her head back up, "but I've been seeing many new girls lately. But they don't stay here for long, they don't work the streets." Tia frowned, leaning forward again.

"They're taken somewhere else? You have any idea where?" The girl shrugged her bony shoulders, her fingers twirling a strand of hair around them.

"I'm not sure, I've only heard some stuff. They can't all be taken to the same place, I've seen at least twenty girls coming through here in the last month and there's none left anymore."

"At least twenty? You sure about that?" Yumichika queried, it did fit the information they had but if they had all already gone, then where?

"So what have you heard? Where do they go?" Sun-Sun shrugged again, her eyes rolling towards the ceiling.

"I dunno, clubs I'd guess. Other cities, maybe someone buys them for their slaves, no one knows for sure."

"Clubs? You mean strip clubs?" Tia interrupted, a nasty suspicion creeping to her mind. Sun-Sun turned her eyes to the woman, noticing the change in her tone.

"Yeah, but you know, the kind that let you do more than just watch" she said, raising an eyebrow at them. Yumichika was looking slightly nauseous and shook his head.

"Sick bastards" he muttered under his breath, earning a stern look from Tia, "well they are."

The waitress brought their orders to the table, stopping the conversation. Sun-Sun tucked into her food while Tia and Yumichika stirred their coffees.

"Can you name any particular clubs that might have taken these girls in?" Tia asked after Sun-Sun had managed to eat some of her portion. She shrugged again, focusing on her meal.

"I'd say go for the ones nearest the docks, I doubt they'd want to take them really far if they wanna keep an eye on them" she replied as she wiped her mouth and took a sip of her milkshake. She paused for a second and then gave the officers a long look.

"Are you going to get rid of them?"

"The new girls? Hopefully yes" Yumichika replied, pouring sugar into his coffee, "why?"

"Just out of personal interest" Sun-Sun said, "they've been driving the prices down, it's been tough for the rest of us."

"So these new girls charge less than…You?" Tia asked, arching an eyebrow at her.

"Well yeah, they're new and don't know anything so you can't really charge much. Besides they don't really look like they'd wanna do anyone, that can turn some men off. Or not" Sun-Sun elaborated, "depends on what you're into really. A lot of men like them 'cause they're so young. Or at least look young."

"So how can they make profit if they don't charge much?"

"Well the same guys have about dozen girls coming every other week, and then they sell them on, you get more money like that. And there are no refunds so that's a plus too. And they don't let the girls keep any of the money."

"You're working…on your own, right?" Yumichika asked, trying to figure out Sun-Sun's age. She sounded older than she looked, or then she might've done this from a really early age. Yumichika hoped the first option was the right one.

"Yeah, most of the regulars are" she replied, picking a strawberry from her plate, "these pimps have just come in the last few months, and frankly most of the girls are not happy. You used to make at least thousand a week working the docks, now you're lucky if you make half of that. The men are cheap, they go for the cheapest fuck they can get. It's simple as that." Sun-Sun raised her eyebrows at the officers and focused back to her meal. Tia sighed, rubbing her eyes and then turned to Yumichika. The man nodded to her and emptied his cup of coffee.

"Thanks for your time, Sun-Sun, you've been really helpful. Take care of yourself" Tia said as she laid enough money for the bill on the table. Sun-Sun merely shrugged, sipping on her milkshake again.

"Anytime you wanna buy me dinner, come by" she bid them, then gave Yumichika a wink, "or something else." A blush crept up Yumichika's neck and Tia had to stifle her snigger as she picked up her hat.

"See you around" the girl hollered after them as they walked out of the diner, chuckling the herself once she was alone at the table. She glanced at the money left on the table and for a second thought about taking it for herself and running out. She glanced at the waitress clearing the tables and then gave the idea up, the waffles had been too good and she wanted to be able to come there another time.

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><p>Neliel wiped the sweat off her forehead and exhaled heavily, then pushed herself to do two more crunches before lopping back to the floor. With few deep breaths she rolled herself into a sitting position and started to stretch her arms and legs. Sweat ran down her back, making her hair stick to her scalp and strands of it were escaping from the bun she had tied on the back of her head. Neliel finished her stretches and jumped back to her feet, her hips swinging to the music that was blasting from her speakers. The perky pop beat made her sing along to the airy lyrics as she picked up a towel to dry off.<p>

"How does it feel, in my arms…." she hummed as she walked to the bathroom, dying for a cold shower. She was just taking off her clothes when she heard the sound of her ringtone over the music.

"Obviously…" she muttered as she hopped back to the living room, looking for the sound of the ringing, "where the hell…" Neliel finally saw the phone ringing on the couch and dove to it, catching it in her hand and then rolling back to the floor with less grace than she had anticipated.

"Ow shit" she cursed before answering the phone, "hi?"

"Hi, it's me." Neliel's face lit up as she heard Tia's familiar, soft voice.

"Oh hi there stranger" she teased the woman, her fingers instantly starting to play with her hair, "I thought you had forgotten all about me." There was a short silence in the other end of the line and for second Nel thought she had gone too far. She wasn't yet sure how seriously Tia would take her joking and teasing. _Maybe she's already had a rough day and now I'm being a bitch. Smooth going there._

"Sorry, I've been busy at work" Tia answered, "there was actually something I wanted to ask you if it's okay."

"Yeah sure, anything" Nel replied, pushing herself up from the floor, "shoot." There was another silence from Tia that made Nel frown to herself. She knew the woman was terse on her words but this was bit awkward.

"I'd rather ask you in person, if that's okay. Are we still on for tonight?"

"Yeah, yeah, absolutely. What time are you free?"

"I get off at seven, so I can come straight from work if that's okay with you." Neliel laughed at the phone, slightly confused by Tia's question.

"Why wouldn't it be?"

"I just thought…If you want to have a fancy dinner or something, if I should get dressed, like for the night-out." Neliel almost aww'd at Tia's insecurity, she could've never guessed a woman so strong and gorgeous would be self- conscious about a thing like that. _She sure doesn't show it much, silly thing._

"No no no, just come as you are and I'll be more than happy" Neliel assured smilingly, "we can stay in and just hang around, I don't really feel like going out tonight anyway."

"You sure?"

"Yes, positive. Just get your ass here, bring some wine and we're good."

"Alright, sounds good then" Tia answered and Neliel had to stifle her laughter as she finally heard the smile in Tia's voice, "I'll see you after seven then."

"Can't wait. Bye then."

"Bye Nel." Neliel waited for Tia to hung up and then held the phone in her hand, staring at the screen with a wide smile on her face. Finally she threw the phone back on the couch and walked to the shower, shaking her head.

"Silly lovestruck cow" she sighed as she stripped off the rest of her clothes and stepped under the shower, turning on the water to drown out her thoughts. She was already feeling giddy about the coming evening. she knew she had told Tia it would be just a night-in but she was planning on a small surprise for her, now knowing she'd come straight from work. Neliel chuckled as she thought about the look on Tia's face when she'd tell her. _It's going to be awesome, I just know it._

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><p>Neliel was doing finishing touches on her makeup when the sharp ring of the doorbell almost made her stab herself in the eye with mascara.<p>

"Shit" she murmured as she put down the makeup and quickly tousled her hair, giving last critical looks at herself from the mirror, "it'll do." She had had hard time deciding on what to wear, so far Tia had only seen the two polar opposites of her fashion sense, her lazy Sunday sweats and over-the-top party dress. _And of course my work "uniform", if you can call it that. _Tonight she had decided on something casual yet fitting, not too 'in-your-face' sexy but sensual, a simple loose blouse that revealed some skin, and some skinny jeans that accentuated her long legs and curvy hips. She had decided to braid her hair, not wanting to fiddle with it nervously all through the evening. Neliel exhaled quickly before dashing to the door, a smile rising to her face. She opened the door slowly, her eyes catching glimpses of familiar blond hair and tanned skin, and the police uniform she had been waiting to see.

"Hi there." Tia gave Neliel a warm look from under her fringe, her icy blue eyes made Neliel's stomach flip. Her hat was shadowing her face slightly, and Neliel almost squealed at the sight. _Exactly what I had hoped for._

"Hi."

"Do come in" Nel bid her, stepping aside to let Tia inside.

"Thanks." Neliel backed off so Tia could take off her coat and shoes, she bit her lower lip nervously as she didn't quite know what to do with herself. Tia didn't seem to notice though as she hang her coat and hat and pushed her blond her back from her eyes.

"Smells good" she noted to Neliel, flashing a soft smile.

"Oh thanks, I just threw something together" she was quick to say, "are you hungry? We can eat now, or then wait…"

"Now is good, I haven't had time to eat anything today." Neliel pursed her lips, a light frown crunching her forehead.

"Busy day? Oh yeah, what was that thing you wanted to ask me about?" Tia waved her hand as she took a step to walk inside the apartment.

"It can wait, let's eat first." Neliel nodded hastily, leading the way into the kitchen.

"Yeah of course, whatever you like." Nel had made the table for two and even lighted a few candles she had found from the back of a cabinet.

"This is just, something silly" she explained, gesturing to the table, "I'm not really used to hosting guests…"

"It looks great" Tia was quick to put in, "I brought the wine."

"Oh right, awesome" Neliel smiled as Tia handed her a brown paper bag with three bottles of wine inside. She glanced at the contents of the bag and then threw a quirky look at Tia.

"Are you planning on getting me drunk tonight?" Neliel had meant it as a joke and accentuated it with a light laugh, not wanting to start the night off with awkward misunderstanding. Tia smiled back at her, shrugging her shoulders.

"We'll see how it goes." Neliel laughed louder, and quickly leaned in closer to peck a kiss on Tia's cheek, catching her off-guard.

"Sit down, I'll serve you" Nel said, turning to the stove where her dinner was staying warm. Tia pulled herself a chair and sat down at the table, her hands idly on her lap as she watched Neliel bustle at the stove.

"What have you been up to today?" she asked as she fiddled with her cutlery.

"Oh, nothing much, cooking mostly" Nel replied as she walked to the table with a pot full of steamed vegetables, "hope it pays off now." Nel let out a small giggle to cover her nervousness as she poured vegetables on the plates.

"I'm sure it will."

"You want to open the wine? I'm sorry, I should've asked before…"

"No, it's fine, what kind do you want to start with?" Tia asked as she stood up to go get the wine.

"Well, we're having steaks, so red I'd guess. I'm no expert" Nel laughed again as she walked back to the stove to get the steaks. Tia took out a bottle of red wine and peeled the foil off the cork.

"You have bottle opener?"

"Yeah, in the top drawer."

Neliel stole a glance at Tia over her shoulder as she rummaged through the drawer in search of the bottle opener. She smiled at the sudden domesticity of the whole scene, she cooking a meal for Tia after a hard day's work. Before she hadn't even given a thought to such a life, not believing it to be an option for someone like her, especially at this point of her life. But now seeing Tia open the wine and pour it into her cheap wine glasses and then sit back down at the table, looking like she was supposed to be there, Neliel's heart felt at peace. _Maybe, just maybe…This will all pull through. _

"Right, the actual food" she announced as she served the steaks. Tia was taking a sip of her wine, her eyes following Neliel as she moved around the kitchen, seeming at ease and certainly more relaxed than Tia felt. She wasn't sure why she was suddenly so nervous, maybe it was because of the question she had to ask her and she had no idea how Neliel would take it. She'd have to be careful not to sound too accusing, she had already gathered Neliel didn't take kindly at people looking down at what she did for living, despite making fun of it herself. _Besides, I'm also a cop. If I make it sound like I'm interrogating her, she'll chew me out. _Tia shifted on her seat, suddenly feeling hot and raised her hand to loosen her tie and open the top buttons of her blouse. Neliel sat down opposite her and gave her a smiling look.

"What?" Neliel shrugged as she took the knife into her hand.

"You look good in that" she said, nodding to Tia's uniform, "though it's very different from the uniform I have." Tia blushed at the memory, earning yet another giggle from Nel.

"I'm so sorry about that, I was really drunk at that point" Neliel laughed, shaking her head as if she couldn't believe what she had done, "it was silly." Tia raised her eyebrows as she cut into her steak.

"You looked good in it." Though Neliel knew it to be stupid and girly, she felt good hearing Tia say that. Though she heard it nearly every day at work and sometimes even from complete strangers on the streets, hearing it from Tia was the only time she actually cared.

"Thanks" she managed to murmur, concentrating on her steak to hide her smile. They ate and drank in relatively silence, Neliel wanting to give Tia chance to relax after a hard day and also give herself time to think of something clever to say. She didn't want to sound like an airhead, she knew her looks pretty much did that for her already. The silence stretched on but Tia didn't seem bothered, giving Nel warm glances every now and then that told her that everything was so far so good.

"How's Yoruichi?" she suddenly asked, holding the wine glass in her hand and twirling the red liquid inside it. Neliel wiped her mouth on the napkin before answering, shrugging her shoulders again.

"She's good, being Yoruichi." Nel chuckled and looked at Tia with a certain glint in her eye.

"She likes you." Tia looked amused and raised an eyebrow at her.

"Really? Wouldn't think so."

"Why?"

"I'm not sure, she doesn't seem like someone who likes everyone she meets."

"Well, you're my friend and I like you, that's enough for her." Tia frowned slightly at Neliel's choice of words but then decided to let it go, not wanting to move things too quickly. _Besides, we have only seen each other under dozen times, even calling you a friend is stretching it at this point. Sex or not._

"Is the food any good?" Nel asked, steering the conversation to a more neutral ground, "I didn't even ask how you like your steak, I'm sorry…"

"It's good, really good" Tia was quick to say, smile rippling on her face, "don't worry so much." Neliel sighed and let a smile light her face.

"Sorry, I'm just…Somehow so nervous" she said, pushing her food around the plate.

"Why?" Tia tilted her head to one side, putting down her cutlery and taking the wine glass into her hand again. Neliel emptied her own glass before answering, looking for some reassurance from the alcohol.

"I don't know, I just…Don't want to screw up I guess." She tried to diminish her words with a smile but Tia reached for her hand over the table, entwining their fingers.

"Don't worry about that" she said in a soft tone, "I really like you already, there isn't much you can do about that at this point."

"That's good to hear" Neliel replied, "though don't make promises you can't keep." She winked at Tia who laughed softly at the animated gesture.

"More wine?" Nel asked, feeling slightly tipsy already and felt her nervousness melt away with the wine.

"Yes, please."

Another short silence fell upon them as they finished eating and emptied the first bottle of wine. Neliel leaned back in her chair, tugging her foot under her and fiddled with her braid, her head lolling from side to side. Tia seemed calm and cool as ever, the wine glass staying in her hand the whole time without her putting it back on the table. Nel drank the last few drops of her wine and lowered her glass.

"Want to break out a new bottle?" she asked with a slight grin, "Or is this enough for now?" Tia gave Neliel a long look from under her brow, another wry smile twisting her mouth.

"Go ahead, the night is still young."

"I knew it, you ARE trying to get me drunk" Nel tutted her as she walked to get a new bottle of wine. She struggled with the cork though, so much so that finally Tia rose up and walked over to her to help.

"Here, let me." Tia didn't take the bottle from Nel, instead placing her hands over hers and helped her pull the cork out with a loud pop.

"Oh!" Nel exclaimed as the bottle almost slipped from her hand. Tia steadied Nel's hands and put the bottle on the counter, still holding onto Nel's hand. She laughed, flicking her hair from her face.

"Guess I've had enough after all" Neliel murmured, slight embarrassment making her face flush. Tia entwined their fingers, raising her other hand to caress Neliel's face. Nel almost instinctively leaned forward and closed her eyes, anticipating a kiss. Tia's hand on her face slipped to her neck and pulled her closer, and their lips touched gently. Neliel hummed pleasantly at the touch, her arm quickly draping itself around Tia's waist. The kiss deepened as Tia parted her lips and ran her tongue along Nel's mouth, earning another moan from her. Suddenly Neliel didn't care about the wine or anything else, she was lost in the kiss and the feel of Tia's body close to hers.

As they broke the kiss to draw a breath, Tia had also already forgotten everything else besides Neliel in her arms. Her big grey eyes drew her in, erasing all rational thoughts from her head. Neliel exhaled with a laugh, tightening her grip on Tia's waist.

"So, umh" she uttered, slightly still short of breath, "what was it you wanted to ask me about?"

"It can wait" Tia shook her head, not wanting to spoil the moment by talking about young girls forced into prostitution.

"Oh, alright" Nel didn't seem to mind, instead she pushed their bodies even closer, planting a light kiss on Tia's mouth, "so…Now what?" Tia stole another kiss from Nel, hoping it would answer her question. It apparently worked since Neliel gently pushed Tia to walk out of the kitchen, trying to not break the kiss as they stumbled across the small apartment. The slightly awkward transition paid off as they finally made it to the bedroom, where Tia pushed Neliel on the bed and started to undo her blouse.

"Wait." Tia stopped and gave Neliel a questioning look. She leaned forward, gesturing Tia to bend down to her level. Neliel took Tia's tie into her hand, twisting it around her knuckles.

"I want you" she said, her voice suddenly low and sultry, "to fuck me with the uniform on."


	9. Chapter 9

_**Sorry this doesn't probably go like most of you wanted it to but I don't want to add meaningless sex scenes into every chapter just because sexy SEX. There's some pay-off though, don't cry. I just realized I hadn't really had them talk to each other in a looong time and I hope maybe this could help me figure out this pairing better. I like it but it just keeps giving me trouble. Plus there's so little material to go on, like other stories or even fanart. God, using my own imagination is so hard! Anyway, on with the chapter.**_

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><p><strong>Chapter 9. <strong>_**Ease my mind**_

Tia stared at Nel with widened eyes, blinking slowly as the girl's words registered into her brain.

"You want me to…What?" Nel's smile faded for a split second but was back in full force almost immediately. She dropped a low laugh from her lips and pulled on Tia's tie again, dragging her further onto the bed.

"You heard me" she murmured softly, in a voice that she thought as sultry. At least it had worked every time before. But now Tia just looked confused and even slightly put off.

"I…I don't" she stuttered, trying to pull back from Nel. The girl's eyes turned from seductive to almost panicky as Tia slipped away from her hands and took few steps back from the bed.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to…" she tried to fix the situation though she had an awful feeling it was already well beyond repair at this point. She saw Tia's eyes turn steely and a sick feeling twisted her whole being as she scrambled on the bed.

"Is that the reason I'm here?" Tia asked, her voice laced with anger but also pain, "To satisfy some fetish, to be your plaything?"

"No, of course not…"

"Tired of fucking men in uniforms, why not try a woman for a change?" Tia spat out, her words emanating from the deepest pits of her inner pain, "Poor little newcomer, why not embarrass her some more?"

"No, please Tia, please, it's nothing like that" Neliel pleaded, now already on her feet and trying to grab Tia's hands into her own, "please don't do this…" Tia flinched away from her touch, trying to stare the frightened girl down with her icy eyes.

"Do you have any idea what I'm risking here?" she asked, now almost shouting at Nel, "Associating with someone like you…"

"With a stripper you mean?" Neliel snapped suddenly, her fear vanishing in a bat of an eye, "You can't even say it to my face! Who's the one with the plaything, huh?" Tia was taken aback by Nel's sudden flare of anger that she could barely say anything.

"Tell me, have you told anyone about me? About us? No, of course! Not only are you ashamed of me, you're ashamed of yourself!"

"How do you think I'd be treated in the force if they knew about this? I'm already ridiculed for just being a woman!"

"Well you can't do much about that so why do you care?" Neliel argued, standing at her full height so she could look Tia straight in the eye, "You think I'm not ridiculed because I'm a stripper? You think I like it? I'd take being ridiculed for dating a woman any day over being groped and ogled at by the same men you work with!"

"Don't you think they do the same to me?" Tia blurted out, she had never even though about telling Nel how disgustingly sexist her work could sometimes be. Neliel flinched at her words, her anger toning down and being replaced by genuine concern. She could now see that the rage in Tia's voice wasn't pointed at her, it was for something else entirely.

"They touched you?" she asked, her voice soft and low again but without a hint of sensuality this time. Tia looked away, her teeth clenching down. Nel tentatively took her hand into hers, sliding her thumb over Tia's hardened knuckles.

"I…I didn't know. I'm sorry." Tia looked as if she was going to snatch her hand away again but instead she entwined her fingers with Neliel's, squeezing her hand tightly.

"Oh baby" Nel sighed and wrapped her other arm around Tia's neck, pulling her close, "oh baby, I'm so sorry…" Tia stood immobile before latching her arms around Neliel's body and letting her soft words clear her mind. Neliel stroked her hair and kept murmuring sweet nothings into her ear until Tia's steel grip loosened and her heart rate slowed down.

"It's okay baby, it's okay" Nel kept repeating as she drew back slightly to look at Tia's face, pushing back her blond hair, "feel any better?" Tia took Nel's hand into hers again, kissing her fingers.

"Yeah, I'm…I'm sorry about that." Nel shook her head, already wearing the same sweet smile as ever.

"No baby, it's okay, I was way out of line with that" she said, even managing a light laugh at the end, "let's just…Forget it." Tia bit her lower lip, now feeling guilty for raging at Neliel, who clearly only had her best interest at heart. She let out a tired sigh, which prompted Neliel to gently pull her down to the edge of the bed.

"Come on, we can just…Hang, there's still wine left, and I can get some dessert from the shop if you want to" she suggested, now treating Tia like a frightened child.

"I'm fine, it's just…I should've told you." Tia paused, staring at the floor, "I haven't really told you anything about myself." Neliel quieted down, letting the silence fall between them as Tia weighed her next words carefully.

"I…I've never…Been with anyone before you. I have never told anyone. But still everyone seems to know. And I can't just…I mean, if I wanted people to know, I'd tell them. But I don't think it's anyone's business. I don't want people to know. They already see me as this blow-up sex doll with big breasts and blond hair" Tia explained, some words barely making it past her clenched teeth. Neliel kept holding her hand, not saying a word. Tia turned to look at her, squeezing her hand.

"You know, I used to have long hair, almost reaching down to my…But I cut it when I got older, I couldn't stand those fucking stares and the things people said…No one saw past the long blonde hair and big breasts, no one ever talked to my face anymore. And it wasn't just the men, the girls…They were worse."

"Tell me about it" Neliel scoffed here, though immediately apologizing for it, "sorry, I didn't mean to…I just know what you mean." Tia clasped her hand again.

"In the academy I mostly ignored everybody and kept to myself, there was only one other girl in my year. She's a friend, the only real friend I had." A smile softened the contours on Tia's face and straightened the lines on her forehead.

"She's as tough as nails, that one…But they dragged her down too." Neliel didn't even want to ask Tia to elaborate, the way she said those words made her spine shiver.

"I've ignored this whole thing for years now, making up excuses and just not caring or answering anymore…Still everyone seems to know. I don't know what I'm supposed to do, I can't relax if I suddenly come off as too friendly and they take it wrong…Some do even if I say nothing, they just look at me and think…I don't even want to know." Neliel leaned her head against Tia's shoulder, sighing softly.

"I know Tia. I've gone through the same, though with me I had my Mom to teach me how to use it…She was, you know, one of those sassy women bossing everyone around, the first time I got home crying because some guy had touched me she told me to stop crying and give 'em back. So I did. They get confused, young boys, and girls, when they try to hurt you and you just laugh and start doing it yourself. I guess that's why I can strip, I've basically made a joke out of myself. 'Oh look at these tits, aren't they funny?'" Tia snorted at Nel's mocking tone, but the girl wasn't finished.

"I mean, if you think about, it's just absurd. It's just flesh bouncing around, and tits don't even look that good when they're moving up and down. At least to me, I dunno" she shrugged, sounding genuinely perplexed. Tia laughed out loud now, stroking Neliel's long hair and burying her face into it.

"Silly girl" she whispered to her, earning a wide smile, "your mother sounds quite a sight."

"Oh, she was" Nel laughed again, "she made things happen. She made everything seem so…Effortless. She could wrap anyone around her little finger, she was amazing." Nel scoffed, shaking her head again.

"Oh man, what she'd say if she saw me now…You know sometimes when I'm working I'm grateful that she's dead. Spared her from further embarrassment." Tia frowned and turned to Neliel, now wearing her stern, officer- expression.

"Don't say that" she told Nel, who was wearing a faint, slightly despondent smile, "you're perfect."

"To you maybe" Nel countered with a shrug, "but seriously, who'd want their daughter to strip for living? Even it was for getting to a real college." Tia didn't know what to say, and it seemed Neliel didn't need her to.

"It's okay, I'm through that. Besides, it's my choice. I could wait tables but that would take about a year or two longer than if I stripped. So it's basically my own impatience I got to blame." Tia caressed Nel's cheek with her thumb, her green eyes now soft and almost hazy.

"You silly girl" she murmured as Nel hemmed and leaned closer to kiss her.

"You keep calling me 'girl' though you're barely few years older than me" she giggled as her lips hovered upon Tia's mouth, "do I somehow look innocent to you?"

"Well after the show you put on last time, not really" Tia replied, making Nel blush, "you're just…I can't call you a woman really. Or lady. Girl fits the best."

"I'd quite like being called milady" Nel remarked, laughter bubbling in her chest.

"Seriously?" Tia asked with smile lighting up her face, making her eyes twinkle.

"Well no, of course not" Nel replied, almost having trouble talking through her giggles now.

"I can just call you by name if that's better."

"No no, I like it" Nel said, shaking her head. She buried her face into Tia's neck and breathed in her scent, drawing circles into the fabric of her uniform.

"You wanna take a shower?" she suddenly asked, catching Tia off- guard, "I mean, if you came straight from work…"

"Ummm, yeah, sure" Tia uttered, her brows furrowing, still slightly thrown off by Nel's question, "yeah, sounds good."

"Awesome" Nel said, pushing herself up again and rising to her feet. She started to pull off her blouse, making Tia even more confused than before.

"Wh- what are you…"

"I'm coming with you, silly" Neliel said, her voice muffled as her blouse went over her face before she threw it on the bed and started to undo her jeans, "if it's okay."

"Ah, sure…I guess" Tia mumbled, now almost entranced by Neliel's this time very casual shedding of clothing. As she was down to her underwear and socks she started to undo her braid, her nimble fingers making quick work of the tied-up locks of hair. She glanced at Tia, nodding at her clothes.

"Come on, you can't take a shower with those on." Tia's hand went absent-mindedly to her tie, her fingers loosening the knot. Neliel let out another sweet laugh and stepped closer to Tia, standing between her knees. She started to undo her buttons, making quick work of the tight white shirt Tia had to wear. She was still trying to loosen her tie enough to just pull it over her head when Nel started to push her shirt back.

"You've done that before" Tia noted to her, making Nel quirk her eyebrow.

"I've had some practice" she admitted with a knowing smile and a wink, "or maybe I'm just impatient."

"I might have known." Neliel's smile widened as she leaned down to kiss Tia, her soft lips massaging gently against Tia's so that she would open her mouth to her. Their tongues entwined as Nel's hands went down to open her belt and undo her trousers.

A low moan escaped from Tia's throat as she finally managed to untie her tie and it slipped from her neck, Neliel's tongue was dancing with hers in a way that made breathing a secondary priority. As the girl drew her head back Tia followed, almost making Nel fall over if Tia's hands weren't there to grab her ass. Nel giggled, flipping her hair back from her eyes.

"You're frisky today" she said, throwing a glance down to her hips where Tia's hands were still firmly holding her. Tia smiled back, flashing her white teeth. Neliel tilted her head to the side, thinking how rare it actually was to see Tia smile like that. It shone from her eyes, making them looks like glistening crystals instead of shards of ice.

"You don't seem to mind" Tia noted, giving Nel a light squeeze that made her stomach do a flip backwards. Another wide smile graced her features as she took a step backwards to make Tia get up. The woman followed, making her trousers drop around her ankles and she stepped out of them, leaving her only with her underwear. Neliel swallowed hardly as she tried not to be overwhelmed by the sudden proximity of Tia's near naked body. She drew in a shaky breath, though Tia seemed unaware of her stunning effect on the girl. Instead she just smiled, more softly now, only the corners of her mouth curling upwards. She offered Nel her hand in an almost chivalric way.

"Still wanna go?" Neliel took her hand, an almost nervous smile on her face.

"Yeah, I do." Tia let out a soft laugh, pulling her closer and stroked Nel's cheek.

"I'm so happy you're here" she whispered, sending shivers down Nel's spine.

"So am I" she managed to answer, embarrassed by how suddenly her voice wavered so much. Tia kissed her gently before leading her out of the bedroom, a fluttering feeling taking over her senses. Tia didn't say anything anymore, her gaze and gestures spoke more than few kind words could've. Neliel let herself sink into the feeling, shutting everything else outside. She barely noticed how Tia took off her underwear, then stripped off her own and led her under the shower, the first cold water made her flinch but Tia's arms wrapped around her to warm her up. Neliel pressed against Tia, sighing softly at the close contact and planted kisses on the woman's shoulders and collar bones. Tia sunk her hands into Nel's hair, combing it with her fingers as the water flowed down her back.

Their hands wandered slowly on each other's bodies with lazy predicament, not wanting to rush or miss anything. Neliel's face started to strain from smiling so widely, she kept her eyes closed so that she was relying only on her sense of touch as her fingers traced the lines of muscles along Tia's back. Tia was sliding her calloused hands down Nel's back, admiring the curve of her hips and the softness of her skin. Nel uttered a soft laugh as Tia's fingers brushed over her side, the gentle touch made her ticklish.

"Sorry" Tia said but Nel shook her head and pulled back to look at her in the eyes. Tia's hair was stuck to her forehead, water running down her face and shoulders. Nel had to bat her eyes to see in the shower as the water kept falling on her head.

"No, I liked it" she smiled and reached for a kiss, almost slipping on the wet tiles. Tia grabbed her waist tightly and leaned back against the wall, securing her own footing so they wouldn't tumble down on the hard floor. Neliel giggled again and pushed her wet hair back from her face.

"I'm such a klutz" she sighed, spitting water out of her mouth. Tia smiled back at her, catching her face into her hand and pressing a kiss on her lips. Neliel sunk into the kiss, again forgetting that they were in the shower where it was very easy to slip and fall so Tia had to tighten her grip on her to stop them from crashing down. Instead they slid slowly down to the floor, Nel glued to Tia's side not to break the kiss.

"Maybe we should start taking baths instead" Tia noted as Nel sprawled across the floor next to her.

"Or just not take showers together" Nel replied with an arch of an eyebrow. Tia gave her an incredulous look.

"I can leave if you just want to take a shower."

"Nah, this will do just fine." Neliel snuggled up against Tia, the water still rushing down on them.

"How long are you planning on staying here?" Tia asked after a while. Nel kissed her neck, her hands absently caressing Tia's body.

"I'm in no hurry. What about you?"

"Just thinking about all the water we're wasting." Nel scoffed, puffing out her cheeks.

"Well fine, let's get out then" she said and tried to get up, only to slip once again and have Tia's steel grip grab her before crashing down on the woman.

"Don't rush into everything, you'll get hurt" Tia said as she got up, slowly and carefully while still keeping Nel in balance too.

"Yes, Mom" Nel replied, though the laughter that crept into her voice made it lose all conviction. Tia ruffled her wet hair before turning the shower off, immediately feeling her skin raise to goosepumps.

"Lemme get you a towel" Nel offered and turned to look for a clean towel. Tia watched her, her eyes slowly tracking every inch of her bare, wet skin, drinking in the sight. Nel glanced at her over her shoulder and smiled.

"Stop staring, you're making me self-conscious" she complained, throwing Tia fresh towel.

"Stop being naked around me" the woman retorted. Neliel raised an eyebrow at her again.

"You might want to take that back" she said with a slightly smug smile. Tia wrapped the towel around her body and stayed quiet, making Nel wait for her answer again.

"Or whatever, I can just start wearing the ugliest sweatpants and hoodies whenever you come over, if that's what you prefer" Nel continued as the silence stretched on. Tia uttered a small laugh, finally turning back to Neliel.

"If you think that would make you ugly, you're wrong." Neliel felt a blush burning her face and scoffed, trying to brush off the compliment.

"Shut up" she mumbled, wrapping her arms around her body, "you don't mean it." Tia stepped closer to Neliel and took her chin into her hand, tilting her head up.

"Yes I do. Stop arguing with me." Neliel stared into Tia's green eyes, suddenly finding it hard to breathe.

"Okay" she managed to answer and was rewarded with a soft smile and a quick kiss. Neliel snapped out of her stupor when she heard the bathroom door click open and the cool breeze hit her skin, making her quickly look for another towel. _Stupid, stupid, stupid…_

When Nel got out of the bathroom, she heard Tia's voice coming from the bedroom. Neliel realized she was talking on her cellphone and judging by her tone of voice, it was something serious.

"So how many did you find? Okay, I'll be there as soon as possible, keep me posted if anything happens. Bye." Neliel leaned against the doorframe of the bedroom, noticing how Tia's muscles were tense and her stance was rigid, she was almost scared to ask what the phone call had been about.

"Everything okay?" Neliel asked as Tia quickly dried herself and started to look for her clothes that were scattered across the floor.

"I'm on a new case, there's been some new evidence and I need to get there" Tia replied, her voice cold and detached again. Neliel almost shrunk away, Tia's work identity was so authoritative it almost made her feel intimidated. Tia seemed to notice her silence and turned around as she buttoned down her blouse.

"You okay?"

"Mmm-hm" Neliel nodded, still avoiding Tia's gaze. Tia grabbed her tie from the floor and walked over to Nel, handing the tie to her.

"Could you help me out with this?" Nel took the tie into her hand, letting the slippery fabric run through her fingers.

"Yeah, sure" she said and hooked the garment around Tia's neck, starting to do a simple knot. Tia kept her eyes on Neliel as her fingers did quick work of the tie.

"I'm sorry I have to leave. I'll make it up to you" Tia told her, trying to draw Nel out of her shell where she had suddenly drawn into.

"You sure you okay?"

"Yeah, don't worry" Nel said and flashed Tia a quick smile, "just…Is it serious?"

"I'm not sure yet, why?" Neliel shrugged, tilting her head to one side.

"Just asking, you know. Your work…It can be dangerous." Tia raised her eyebrows at the wavering in Nel's voice.

"Are you worried about me?"

"Of course I am" Nel scoffed as she straightened Tia's tie, "you might get shot, or killed, or one of those assholes you work with might try something funny and I…I can't do anything about it." Tia took Nel's hands into her own, pulling them gently away from her throat.

"I will be fine, trust me. This is just routine, nothing serious. I will call you when I get off, I can even come back here if you want me to." Neliel looked up at Tia, biting on her lower lip.

"Promise?" Tia pressed a kiss on Nel's lips.

"I promise." Finally Neliel managed a smile and kissed Tia back, wrapping her arms around her neck.

"I'll hold you onto that." Tia gently shrugged Nel's arms off and pressed her hat on her head, brushing her fingers over Nel's cheek.

"You have my word." Nel stepped to the side as Tia walked to the front door. Neliel sighed quietly and tried to keep away all the bad thoughts that tried to force themselves into her head. _She will be fine, she's just gone for few hours. She'll be back. _

Neliel watched Tia lace up her boots, all suited up in her uniform again.

"I might be late so don't stay up waiting for me" Tia told her as she put on her jacket.

"Just…Let me know when you're coming back" Nel said, still feeling anxious.

"I will, just stop worrying. I said I'd be back before you even notice." Neliel didn't say anything back, she was still too worried for Tia's safety, more now after hearing how disgusting her co-workers actually were. She shuddered at the thought of having to serve them again at work. _Maybe I could kick them in the face, by accident. _Tia was ready and held her hand on the door handle, throwing Nel one last look over her shoulder.

"Be careful" Nel blurted out, almost reaching out to drag Tia back. The woman smiled faintly at her weak voice.

"I will" she replied, "silly girl."

Nel kept staring at the closed door good few minutes after Tia's footsteps had faded away. She couldn't remember feeling this nervous before, or worried about someone. But now all she could think about was Tia getting shot by some common criminal and bleeding to death in the streets, alone.

"Stop it" she told herself out loud, the sudden silence of the apartment was grating her nerves, "just…Stop it." Neliel walked back into her living room, lopping down on the couch and staring at the TV that wasn't even on. Suddenly her cellphone started ringing, almost making her jump from the couch.

"Jesus" she muttered as she reached for her phone from the coffee table, glancing at the screen. It was an unknown number but right now Neliel would welcome anything to distract her mind from Tia.

"Hello?" First there was only faint background noise but then the speaker crackled and a familiar voice sounded to Nel's ear.

"Hey Nel, you busy?" Neliel frowned as she tried to make out Yoruichi's voice from all the commotion.

"No, I'm just at home, why?"

"It's kinda hard to explain…Just come over here, see for yourself."

"Come where?" Nel asked, though she was already getting up from the couch, "Where are you, is everything okay?"

"I'm fine, it's not that. Just come to the club, as soon as you can. I'll explain later."

"Okay, I'll leave right now" Nel promised, "has Nnoitra done something?" Yoruichi let out a short laugh.

"You could say that. Just…Come here, you'll understand once you're here."

"Alright, alright, I'll come. You're scaring me Yoruichi." Neliel heard the phone click as Yoruichi hung up on her, now a different kind of nervousness creeping into her brain.

"For God's sake" she muttered as she ran to her bedroom to find some clothes, "what is up with everyone tonight?" In less than five minutes Neliel was already out of the door, running down the stairs and feeling her hands shake as her mind played out every possible worst-case scenario. But even then she had no idea what she was about to see.


	10. Chapter 10

_**Listening to Beyonce as I wrote this, I keep imagining Neliel being as fierce as her when she sees another woman near her Tia. Maybe she even dances to some Beyonce songs. And now I'm just thinking of Super Bowl's half-time show, oh dear. And sorry again for taking so fricking long, I have a thesis that I should write (right at this moment actually), my laptop died, I was sick, etc etc. But here it is , finally!**_

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><p><strong>Chapter 10. <em>Believe in this sweet madness<em>**

Yumichika was leaning against the police car, tapping his fingers on the bonnet and fighting the urge to whistle out a tune when he heard quick footsteps coming his way. He turned to see Tia strutting towards him, looking slightly more pissed off than usual. Yumichika braced himself for being berated but instead Tia just snatched off her hat and ran a hand through her hair, sighing tiredly.

"So, what's new? And why couldn't it wait till the morning?" Yumichika nodded towards the shady looking club that was now wrapped in police tape.

"They traced some of the girls back here, thought you'd want to be here if we find anything out. Also" Yumichika pointed at another police car parked further down the road, "apparently this isn't the only town with the same problem so they've sent their own forces over to have a look." Tia raised an eyebrow as she looked around for the outside officers.

"How many did they sent then, and why not just ask for our help?" Yumichika shrugged his shoulders.

"No trust among cops I guess. They sent just a few people, some hardass sergeant with another officer, I heard she's a real tough one." Tia flinched at the description as she realized there was a good chance she knew this hardass sergeant very personally.

"What's her name then?"

"I dunno, didn't really seem the chatty type. She's inside with Muguruma and Ganju." Tia stepped to Yumichika's side, folding her arms on her chest and stared at the club door.

"Shouldn't take long" Yumichika added but Tia said nothing. She felt almost anxious, if she was right this would be the first time seeing her in almost three years. She wondered what she'd say, what could she say to her after all these years. The last time Tia had seen this woman she'd been at the very bottom, something that had inevitably changed the picture Tia had of her, whether she wanted to or not. And it had also made her face the cruel reality that was male-dominated world of the police force. Yumichika seemed to notice her sudden silence and nudged her with his elbow.

"Everything okay?" Tia shook her head to clear her thoughts, giving Yumichika a quick reassuring smile.

"Just had a weird feeling, that's all." Yumichika glanced over his shoulder and then leaned in closer.

"Is it about your new friend?" Tia threw a glare at Yumichika and the man took the hint, drawing his head back with a smug grin on his face.

"Okay, don't have to tell me everything, just asking as a friend."

"Not the time right now" Tia said, "but no, it's not that."

"Okay, then what?" Tia cocked her head to one side, hearing her shoulder pop.

"This new guy might just be an old friend of mine, from the Academy days."

"I thought you didn't make any friends back there."

"Just this one" Tia said, now staring at the club's doors waiting for someone to come out, "the best." Yumichika chuckled as he too turned to the door and crossed his arms on his chest.

"Now I'm intrigued, I only caught a glimpse of her when they came in. Though she did look like your type."

"I don't have a type."

"Oh yeah you do, I can tell." Tia shoved Yumichika but the man only swayed gently to the side, swinging right back to his place. Finally the door opened and Tia straightened herself up, nervously dusting her uniform. Kensei was the first to come out, followed by Ganju who looked positively frightened. Tia was already sure the sergeant sent to help them was the person she thought. And as she came out, Tia was almost surprised at how little had changed in these three years. She was still as short and lithe as always, her black cropped hair with straight bangs framing her face and slightly slanted eyes scanning the area. Tia waited until her gaze reached her and enjoyed the sudden change on her face as she noticed her old friend standing just few feet away.

"Harribel?" Tia had to hold back the smile that tugged her lips as she heard Soi-Fon's voice and saw the look on her face.

"Soi-Fon." The small woman's surprised expression was gone in a second and she strutted to Tia, making Yumichika flinch away by the sheer power of her natural authority.

"I didn't know you were positioned here" Soi-Fon said, not sounding one bit emotional. Tia wasn't surprised, the woman had always been scarce with her feelings.

"Just got here few months ago. I didn't know you were so close." Soi-Fon glanced at her uniform and cocked her eyebrow.

"Guess that explains why you're just an officer. I'd expect you to be at least a sergeant by now." Tia shrug off the back-handed compliment, knowing it was the only way Soi-Fon could communicate.

"Steady as she goes" she replied, "you always rushed into things head first." There was a glint in Soi-Fon's eyes and Tia knew there was still the same woman inside there, despite everything. For some reason it gave her hope.

"Still haven't learned to watch your mouth" Soi-Fon said, "probably what's holding you back. Better learn some respect, Harribel."

"You're the one to talk about respect" Tia said, now a crooked smirk creeping to her face, "all the way from down there." There was a quick flush on Soi-Fon's cheeks but she cocked her head back defiantly.

"The bigger they are, the harder they fall, remember that" she retorted, but there was a lightness in her voice now that made it clear for Tia that they were good. But whether Soi-Fon was good, she couldn't yet tell.

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><p>Neliell frowned as she saw police cars driving past her as she walked towards the club. It wasn't that uncommon, but usually they weren't around this early. Nel hurried her steps, worrying if something actually serious had happened and whether her friends were in trouble. Another thought came to her as she jogged along the street in her high heels. <em>What if this was the case Tia was called into? <em>Nel wasn't sure whether having Tia on the scene would be a good or a bad thing if the club had been raided, though she wondered why the cops would've busted their own regular club. _Who knows, it's not like they act on logic anyway, _she thought as she turned around a corner and could see a row of police cars parked on the street in front of the club. And fair enough, the first thing she noticed was a tall, dark-skinned police woman with messy blonde hair.

Neliel's delight changed into confusion as she noticed another female officer standing beside her. Not that she was surprised seeing another woman in the local police force, but the way her and Tia seemed to be getting along like old friends irked her somehow. A sudden sting of jealousy made her face feel hot and she grabbed tighter onto the leash of her bag as she slowed down and thought about just running away before Tia even noticed her. Neliel shook her head and cursed her insecurity. _You're never going to get anything if you just run away every time something comes between you. Just be cool. _Nel pushed her shoulders back and exhaled slowly, then started walking again, her heels clicking against the pavement. She did realize she couldn't flaunt her relationship with Tia publicly but she could at least make it known she knew her.

Tia turned her head as she heard the loud click-clack of high heels coming towards them and almost froze as she saw Neliel walking down the street, a strange unreadable expression on her face and even the way she walked looked different. Her feet slammed against the pavement as if she was trying to smash through it, her hips swinging sharply from side to side, in contrast to her usual feline-like smooth strut. Soi-Fon saw the look on Tia's face and turned to look, a amused smile on her face.

"Seems like the nightshift is starting" she noted to Tia, who had to hold back her tongue. Neliel was now almost beside them, and flicked her long hair over her shoulder, batting her eyes at the women.

"Good evening, officers" she purred, her perfume wafting through the air as she kept swinging her hair back and forth, "is there a problem?" Soi-Fon wasn't feeling chatty and glared at the woman, though due to their difference in height she had to crane her neck back in order to do it.

"Do you work here?" she asked coldly, but her tone didn't phase Neliel, who just smiled at her and then looked at Tia, giving her a small wave.

"Is there a problem? She repeated, now clearly talking to Tia over Soi-Fon's head. Tia narrowed her eyes and shook her head ever so slightly. Nel almost wanted to keep prodding at her but stepped back and finally looked at Soi-Fon.

"My friend works here, she called me over" she said, glancing at the club over her shoulder, "looks more serious than I thought." Tia decided to step in, fearing Soi-Fon would anger Neliel and make her blurt out something inappropriate.

"All the employees are being questioned at the police station, your friend might be already there. You can't be here, this is considered a crime scene at the moment." Neliel quirked an eyebrow at Tia, a small smile tugging her lips.

"Okay then, officer" she said amiably, throwing one last look at Soi-Fon and even winked at her, earning a furious scowl in return, "I'll be on my way." Neliel meandered past the police cars, earning admiring looks from the other officers standing around. Neliel ignored them completely, walking now with her usual grace. Tia had to stop herself from staring after her and turned back to Soi-Fon, shrugging her shoulders at the scene that had just happened. Soi-Fon's forehead was crunched into a deep frown as she kept looking after Neliel.

"Do you know her?" she asked Tia, who had to bite down on her teeth so her face wouldn't betray anything.

"I might've seen her around, it's a small town after all" she said dismissively, though lying straight to Soi-Fon's face felt bad. The woman stared into her eyes until she was satisfied and turned to lean on the bonnet of the police car.

"Something's off here" she said, tapping her fingers against the car's side, "something's missing."

"Any ideas?" Tia asked her, pushing her hat away from her eyes.

"A few, but nothing I'd want to say out loud at the moment." Before Tia could ask more, Kensei walked to them, his eyes darting between Tia and Soi-Fon. Tia could guess the man wanted to ask what was the deal with them but luckily was probably too scared of Soi-Fon to do it now.

"The owner is ready to be interrogated" Kensei told them, still seeming bit wary.

"Right, let's get going" Soi-Fon said and made a gesture to step into the car.

"Wanna drive?" Tia asked her, already knowing the answer. Soi-Fon didn't entertain with a retort and just hopped into the driver's seat, with Tia quickly taking her place on the passenger's side. Yumichika had to take the back seat, though he felt like an intruder as the women continued with their chat, ignoring him completely.

"You know anything about that place?" Soi-Fon asked Tia as she turned around a corner bit too sharply, making the back end of the car slide sideways along the street.

"Just that it's basically a sewer, I think the owner has been linked to some drug deals previously but nothing incriminating enough."

"No previous evidence of human trafficking?"

"Not that I know of" Tia said, but then scoffed lightly, "though I wouldn't be surprised. The info doesn't really get passed around that much here." Soi-Fon seemed to catch the meaning behind Tia's words and her fingers squeezed the wheel tightly.

"But we could ask the senior officer, Kyoraku. He's solid."

"You sure about that?" Soi-Fon asked, her voice straining just noticeably.

"Yes, definitely. And Yumi here is okay too." Soi-Fon threw the man a quick look through the rear view mirror and he tried to act casual.

"Fine. I guess we'll be alright then" she said, "so, what else is new?" Tia shrugged, staring out of the car window.

"Nothing really, just trying to fit in. It's harder than I thought, but...Guess it'll get better."

"Highly doubt it" Soi-Fon said with bitterness in her voice, "if you just sit around and wait for them to come around for you, it'll never change. You need to do it yourself." Tia wanted to ask more about Soi-Fon's current situation at the police force, but knew she couldn't do it now. She would've to wait until they were alone, and even then Soi-Fon might just refuse to talk. After the incident she had become even more reclusive than before, not even confiding to her only friend.

"Guess so" she finally said, hoping Soi-Fon would notice all the things she didn't say out loud.

* * *

><p>Neliel waited until she was well beyond the range of hearing from the police cars before she quickly rummaged through her bag for her phone. She dialed the number from which Yoruichi had called her and waited for someone to pick up. <em>Oh c'mon, don't do this to me now...<em>

"Yo."

"Yoruichi!" Nel almost shouted hearing her friend's voice, "where are you? I was at the club but there were cops everywhere..."

"Calm down babe, I'm fine" Yoruichi replied, "where are you now?"

"Just got trying to get as far away from the club as possible, the cops told me they're interrogating all the workers. Yoruichi, what the hell is going on?" There was a short silence as Yoruichi contemplated on whether she should tell Neliel everything over the phone.

"I'm going over to Rangiku's, can you make it there?" Nel stopped and ran her hand through her hair, exhaling in frustration.

"Alright, I'll meet you there" she said, "Oh shit, this is just...Seriously, what the hell is going on?"

"I don't want to explain it all over the phone, just come to Rangiku's and we'll figure something out. Just try to keep it together, okay?"

"Yeah yeah, I'll meet you there. Bye" Nel hung up the phone and pressed her hand against her forehead. She had a bad feeling this was getting out of her depth.

"Shit" she sighed as she counted her options, none of them felt especially alluring to her. For few seconds she thought about just going home and forgetting about all of this. This could be her opportunity to quit the club and start again, maybe she could even skip town for a while now when she knew that Nnoitra wouldn't be coming after her. Nel turned to look over her shoulder where she had left Tia behind, and instantly knew she couldn't leave. _I ha_v_e the worst timing anyone's ever had. _

"Fine!" she exasperated finally, throwing her arms in the air and started to half-jog towards Rangiku's apartment. _This better not come back and kick me in the teeth later. __I don't need this now._

* * *

><p>Rangiku sipped on her red wine and leaned her chin on her palm as she listened to Yoruichi's latest tale. She twirled the glass in her hand and let the wine swish against the sides.<p>

"So, what you're saying is that Nnoitra is apparently a hugely bigger asshole than we thought? How come that doesn't really surprise me." Yoruichi emptied her own glass in two large chugs and leaned towards the bottle to pour more.

"I know it's not the biggest news ever but still, I'm bit shook that I had no fucking clue about all this. He was doing it right under our noses, how come none of us noticed anything?" There was a sharp knock on the door as Yoruichi settled back on the couch and the women exchanged meaningful looks. Finally Rangiku gave up and got up with an exaggerated sigh to walk to the door.

"Who is it?" she called out before moving the security chain.

"It's Nel, who else could it be?"

"Do you really wanna know?" Yoruichi quipped from the couch.

"Oi, you can say goodbye to that wine if you don't shut it" Rangiku replied as she opened the door and let Nel in, "wine, honey?"

"Uh, sure, why not" Neliel replied as she slipped inside the apartment and saw her friend lounging idly on the couch, "Yoruichi! Are you okay?" The woman raised her glass to Nel and flashed her a wide grin.

"Better than ever baby, no need to worry. Have a seat and try to cool down." Nel shrug off her coat and kicked off her heels, patting to the nearest armchair opposite the couch. Rangiku walked back from the kitchen with a new bottle of wine and an extra glass. Within few seconds Nel was handed a wine glass filled to the brim with ruby red liquid.

"Did you see anything back there? Were the cops still there?" Rangiku asked as she sat back down.

"Yeah, they were. I guess they were leaving though, but I heard nothing. What is exactly even going on?"

"Apparently Nnoitra has been trafficking some poor young girls through the club" Yoruichi said, "or that's what I figured." Neliel's eyes widened in shock.

"How...How is that even possible, I haven't noticed anything!"

"Don't blame yourself, neither has anyone else, if I understand correctly. He's been quite hush-hush about it, as you would." Nel sunk back into her chair, holding her wine glass with both hands to prevent it from spilling.

"How did you get out of there anyway, I thought you were working tonight."

"I was" Yoruichi replied, "I was just at the back changing, when I heard them coming in. I decided it was best to leave the scene then and climbed out the window."

"The window? Why, there is a door?" Yoruichi raised an eyebrow at Neliel.

"The cops were watching the obvious exits, that's why. And even then I landed in the dumpster and had to lay low for a while before I managed to run away unseen. It's all about being stealthy, my ladies." Rangiku scoffed and gave Yoruichi a curious look.

"I wonder how they didn't smell you passing them by, you reek of filth" she said and pointed towards the bathroom door, "if you'd please, you're staining my couch." Yoruichi stuck her tongue to Rangiku but obliged, grabbing the less full bottle of wine with her.

"Play nice, girls" she bid them before closing the door behind her. Rangiku rolled her eyes and turned to Nel, who had curled into a ball in her chair.

"So, what's new with you? How's your lady friend?" Nel tried hard not to smile too openly at her wine glass before she raised her head up.

"We're...good, I'd say. Yeah, pretty good."

"How's the sex?" If Neliel had had any wine in her mouth at that moment she would've spat it out, but luckily she didn't and saved Rangiku's furniture. She had to settle for a horrified stare as the blonde woman laughed at her expression.

"That's either very good, or very bad. I really hope it's the first one, for your sake."

"Wh- what has Yoruichi told you?" Nel managed to sputter out finally, tugging her hair back nervously. Rangiku let out another soft laugh and sipped her wine.

"Calm down honey, she hasn't raddled on you. Call it my woman's intuition, I figured you looked so happy that you might've hooked up with Tia. Which is totally fine, if it was good. So, how was it?" Nel puffed out her cheeks and pursed her lips at Rangiku, annoyed by her perceptiveness.

"Oh fine, we did hook up, the night we all went out together." Rangiku already let out a rejoiced cheer but Nel stopped her.

"But, but, I saw her earlier today, and I had planned this really hot, sexy thing we would do, this kind of a, fantasy thing, and it totally bit me in the ass, and I'm talking about a major cock up here. She got really angry, I was actually scared of her." Now Rangiku looked concerned, she put away her glass and leaned forward on the couch. Neliel raked her fingers through her hair, almost tearing it out.

"So...What happened then?"

"Oh, we managed to talk it through, and it's all good now. I think. She had to go back to work before we could talk more" Nel said just as the bathroom door opened and Yoruichi waltzed out, a towel wrapped around her head and another covering her body.

"Okay, what I missed?"

"Nel and Tia are having lesbian relationship problems"Rangiku filled her in before Nel had a chance to even open her mouth.

"Well they're lesbians, of course they have problems" Yoruichi said with a shrug as she sat back down on the couch.

"Excuse me?" Neliel blurted out, giving her friends a confused stare, "Care to elaborate?"

"Bitches be crazy, a well- known fact" Yoruichi continued happily as she helped herself to even more wine, "two women in a relationship together, bound to have problems from the start."

"Oh really? And two men or men and women don't have that?"

"Well yeah, but c'mon, you're a stripper, she's a cop, that's even more volatile than usual."

"What does that matter? Because I can tell you, it doesn't" Nel complained, though she immediately remembered the earlier argument with Tia which was partly due to her profession. And Nel's too.

"She hasn't made a point a boutyou being a stripper yet? Better prepare for it, she seems the straight shooting type to me, so she probably will have a problem with it sooner or later."

"Did you argue about that? Did she say you have to quit dancing?" Rangiku put in, now again looking more curious than concerned. Neliel sighed and leaned back in her chair, pressing her legs to her chest.

"No, not exactly...Well, it was mentioned, but she has a lot of issues to deal with herself..."

"Aha! Knew it" Yoruichi interrupted suddenly, "told you, bitches be crazy."

"That has nothing to do with us being together" Neliel contested, "or her being a lesbian. Or me being a lesbian. She would have these problems if she was straight, or asexual. Or whatever there is."

"Fine, fine, just happened to notice that a lot of lesbians have issues that come up quite quickly in a relationship."

"Oh right, why is that?"

"I dunno, maybe because men are stupid and don't notice. Or care. Anyway, Tia's issues, what then?"

"Then nothing, we dealt with it like adults, and everything is now fine" Nel said, trying to end the discussion right there, but her friends persevered.

"Come on, spill some dirt. Maybe we could help you out" Rangiku said compassionately, but Nel wasn't convinced.

"You just want to hear about my personal stuff, and maybe offer some kitchen psychology as an advice. You don't fool me."

"Well, they say that shared grief doubles it...No wait, that's shared joy" Yoruichi stumbled in her analogies and glared at her wine glass, "where did you buy this stuff?"

"Oh, I haven't bought my own drinks in years, some guy gave it to me" Rangiku said as she read the etiquette from the bottle, "apparently it's Argentinian."

"I think it's nice" Nel said and took another sip to calm her nerves, "but hey, enough about me. What do you know about the club, is it being closed or what?"

"No idea yet, I suspect nothing is gonna happen before Nnoitra gets out, if he ever does. So at the meantime, consider yourself on holiday." Neliel still felt ill at ease, she felt there was something she had forgotten.

"Who else was working tonight? Maybe we could call them if they have gotten out already, see if they know something." Yoruichi glanced at the ceiling as she tried to remember who she had seen at the club that night.

"Oh right" she suddenly said and snapped her fingers, "Rukia was there! I think she just went out as I left, so I'd say they would've taken her to be questioned."

"Oh shit" Nel gasped and almost dropped her glass, "holy cow, she's in big trouble if they took her."

"What do you mean, who's this girl?" Rangiku asked.

"She's this new girl working there, but she's actually the sister of Byakuya Kuchiki, know the man?" Yoruichi explained to her.

"Oh right, that rich dude!" Rangiku remembered, then frowned in confusion, "Why is his sister working as a stripper?"

"We don't really have any idea, but I bet the cops recognize her and will call her brother, which is something that cannot happen" Neliel declared as she got up from the couch, "hurry, we need to get to her before it's too late."

"Now, why should we care if she gets into trouble?" Yoruichi asked, seemingly reluctant to leave the couch and the wine, "And how you suggest we drag her out from the police station?"

"I don't know, yet" Neliel said as she put on her coat, "but we'll figure something out on the way there."

"We?" Rangiku questioned, "Who's we?" Neliel stopped and stared at her two friends still occupying the couch.

"You're coming with me, of course. I'm not doing this alone."

"Tell me again, why?" Neliel gave them a somber look with her hands on her hips.

"She is our friend, and she might be in big trouble. Come on girls, we have to stick together!" she tried to rally them, "Besides, who knows what Nnoitra might do to her if he thinks she knows something? Or told the police something?"

"She has a point there" Rangiku admitted and finally made an effort to get up from the couch, "come on Yoruichi, let's haul ass and save this girl." The woman rolled her eyes but did follow suit, downing the rest of her wine as she did.

"Fine, but we still have no idea what are we going to do when we get there."

"Well, we have about a mile to think about that, and in these heels it means roughly half an hour, plenty of time" Neliel said as they were out the door, "or then we just improvise."

"With what?" Yoruichi demanded, still not convinced about the rationale of this plan. Neliel shrugged as they waited for the elevator.

"Well, we have two strippers here, and an otherwise promiscuous woman, we're bound to figure out something that will work."

"Good point" Rangiku agreed as they entered the elevator, "oh, I'm almost excited! This is like being in Charlie's Angels or something."

"I think they were actual cops instead of strippers and sluts" Yoruichi pointed out.

"Well I bet if they had been, they would've solved those crimes much quicker."


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11. **_**Don't make a scene**_

"I'm still saying this is the worst idea ever" Yoruichi hissed as they stood across the street of the police station.

"Oh come on, it'll be fine" Neliel tried to assure her.

"I'm somewhere in between you two" Rangiku weighed in.

"Thanks for that Ran, you're being really helpful." Neliel pursed her lips as she tried to think how they could get inside and snoop around for Rukia.

"What if she isn't even there?" Yoruichi asked, "Maybe she got out like me."

"She would've called us by now" Neliel said, though she wasn't absolutely sure about it. But she couldn't just leave Rukia alone, she had to at least try to do something.

"I got it!" she suddenly exclaimed, making her friends flinch.

"Got what?" Rangiku asked, feeling the wine starting to take effect.

"How we're gonna get in and find Rukia" Nel said, "just listen to me for a second here." The women put their heads together and hushed for few minutes, with the occasional "that is insane!"- exclamation thrown in.

"Okay, everybody clear?" Neliel asked once they had gone over everything at least three times before agreeing on a plan of action.

"I am" Yoruichi said with a crooked grin, glancing at Rangiku who didn't look as excited.

"Why does it have to be me?" she asked, folding her arms across her chest.

"You're perfect for it" Nel tried to comfort her, "you do diva so well, it's in your blood."

"In her brain more like" Yoruichi chuckled, earning a punch on the arm from Rangiku.

"Well fine, but you owe me for this" she said as reached down to tear the hem of her dress, "do something to my hair, would you?" Yoruichi stuck her hand into Rangiku's long mane and tousled it vigorously until the sleek wavy locks resembled more of a crow's nest.

"Thank you" Rangiku said, trying to straighten her back and pull her shoulders back, "how do I look?"

"Like you just crawled out from under a rock" Yoruichi said helpfully.

"You look the part" Neliel added, earning a scornful look from Rangiku.

"Could you squeeze out a tear or two?" Yoruichi asked, "You know, like Hollywood stars, do the sexy cry!" Rangiku batted her eyes trying to understand what Yoruichi meant.

"Sexy cry?"

"Let's just go already, we've wasted enough time!" Neliel said as she started to cross the street. Yoruichi chuckled as Rangiku tottered behind Nel, wiping her face to spread her makeup.

"Still think this is a bad, bad idea" Yoruichi said.

* * *

><p>Tia was inside the force in Shunsui's office, listening him brief Soi-Fon on the situation. Shunsui sounded almost unfamiliar like this, serious and solemn and without a hint of his usual care free attitude. Soi-Fon's own attitude didn't help much.<p>

"So you've just found out about this, and you suspect it has been going on for at least six months?" she asked after Shunsui was done with his briefing, "How come it took you so long to find out?"

"These people are no amateurs, sergeant" Shunsui said, "they know what they're doing, and from what we believe they have been running similar operations all across the country. This is actually the first time we have some legitimate evidence of their dealings. Including your own town." Tia hid her smile, Shunsui might look like a pleasant enough fellow but question his capabilities or how he did his work and you were in trouble. Soi-Fon seemed to notice it too as she backed down.

"Fine, they've managed to con us both. So what do you suggest would be our next move, is the interrogation done yet?"

"We're going through the employees of the club, the owner is our main priority at the moment. We've already found him on our database, he has a long list of previous offences, but nothing on this scale. Next we'll hunt down his accomplices, but I think this will go much further than simple club owners and petty criminals."

"You suggest there is a larger operation connected to this?"

"Has to be, the smugglers have to be involved, as well their connections in Eastern Europe. We have contacted the local police force and asked for their help, see if they have any missing persons who would fit the description of the girls brought here."

"I highly doubt that, most of the trafficked girls are usually orphans, helps to get rid of the tracks" Soi-Fon said, "no one will miss a lone girl with no family."

"Still, it's worth a try. Even if plenty of girls have gone missing from the same city, someone is bound to have noticed" Shunsui said, "and then of course we need to contact the nearby cities, I want to know how far this operation actually goes. Apparently some of the girls are shipped away from the coast, this is only their first stop."

"Looks like we have our work cut out for us" Soi-Fon said and looked at Tia who had been quiet for the whole time, "I suppose you will be part of the operation, Harribel?"

"Harribel has been with for short amount of time, but she has already proven her capabilities to me, and will be assisting me personally on this case" Shunsui was quick to say, surprising both Soi-Fon and Tia.

"Sir, I-"

"No buts, Harribel. I know I can trust you on this one. Besides, a female officer will probably do much better job trying to talk with these girls than a man would. They've already been gravely mistreated, I think a sisterly or a motherly figure would bring them at least some comfort."

"Are you placing Harribel in this operation just based on her gender?" Soi-Fon snapped, "I thought you'd be more professional than that, Kyoraku."

"As I said, Harribel is a very capable officer and in this case her gender is only a plus. If I didn't think she was otherwise perfectly suitable for this mission, I wouldn't do it" Shunsui said, "but you have to admit, in situations like this we cannot just act gender-blind, all of the victims have been young girls, and the people responsible have been men. We cannot ignore this, so we have to take it into consideration while choosing the correct personnel for this operation." Soi-Fon seemingly wanted to argue despite Shunsui being right.

"I would be honored to take part, sir" Tia said, trying to ease the tension between the two.

"Splendid!" Shunsui said smilingly, "now, we should head to the interrogation rooms, maybe they have already cracked the club owner. But what is that noise?" Soin-Fon and Tia listened and they too noticed the loud hassle that came from outside the office. Tia walked to the door and poked her head out, there seemed to be some kind of commotion going towards the lobby.

"I'll go and check" she said to Shunsui and Soi-Fon, quickly slipping out of the small office. Tia marched down the hall, seeing that almost very officer had abandoned their desks and had gathered in the lobby. She stretched her neck to see over the heads of the men huddling together, almost blocking the doors.

"What's going on here?" she asked Ganju who was standing at the edge of the small crowd.

"Some women came in to report a robbery" he explained and winked at her, "they're all very easy on the eyes." Tia rolled her eyes, she ought to have guessed it. The second an attractive woman walked in to the station every man suddenly turned into the most efficient police officer in the whole city, despite how busy they might've been just a second ago with other cases and paperwork. Suddenly Tia heard a familiar voice speaking among the crowd,.

"Oh, it was awful!" the woman cried and paused to sob, "they came out of nowhere, I had no chance!" Tia craned her neck to see how Kensei actually offered the woman a handkerchief to dry her eyes with. Rangiku took the handkerchief and graced the man with a wide smile.

"Thank you, good sir" she said as she dapped her eyes, "I feel so safe with all these strong policemen around me!" _Oh God, she's really pushing it, _Tia thought, she didn't believe for a second Rangiku had actually been attacked. Her hair tousled, her makeup slightly messed up and her dress torn but there was something off. There were no bruises on her arms or any marks on her face, she looked too clean.

"Calm down, you are safe now" Kensei said and patted her on the shoulder, "now, can you tell us what they looked like?" Rangiku sniffed and then flicked her hair over her shoulder, batting her eyes in exaggerated confusion. Tia almost burst out laughing, the men were eating out of her hand by now.

"Oh, there were three of them, all quite big and muscular, bit like you" Rangiku said and reached the man closest to him, who happened to be Iba. The man's face turned a shade redder and he couldn't even say anything back. He tried to hide his confusion by correcting his shades, which hid his eyes behind the tinted lenses. Tia had had enough of this charade, Ganju had said there had been more than one woman so where were the rest? Rangiku was obviously the bait for the officers to turn a blind eye so the others could sneak inside, but why? And where would've they gone?

"Alright, you boys have fun" she told Ganju as she slipped past them and headed for the holding cells which were at the end of the hallway across the lobby. That was the only reasonable direction they could've gone to, the other way lead to the offices and Tia would've noticed them there. Tia tried to guess who Rangiku had for her accomplices, Yoruichi probably. _But what are they doing here in the first place? Are they here because of the club's raid? Trying to get someone out, find information? _Tia realized Nel hadn't headed back home once she had left the crime scene. _She said her friend was supposed to be working, and they had been taken to the force...She wouldn't be that stupid, would she? _Tia swore under her breath and hurried her steps, hoping she'd catch the women before someone else did.

* * *

><p>Neliel and Yoruichi skulked around the endless corridors inside the police force, ever so often stopping to listen if anyone was nearby.<p>

"It can't be far anymore" Neliel said as they turned yet another corner, "the building isn't that big!"

"Bad idea, told you" Yoruichi said as she glanced over her shoulder, "I wonder how Ran's doing."

"She's thriving, don't worry" Neliel dismissed and tried to remember whether she had seen this corridor before, "dammit, how do they navigate in here?"

"Maybe it's so that the prisoners won't find their way out even if they break from their cells."

"Or maybe we're just bad at this, and panicking. We did just kinda break in to the police station."

"You might have a point there. C'mon, it can't be far! We should at least hear something, I bet the prisoners aren't that quiet." Neliel and Yoruichi finally found a hallway that seemed to lead somewhere, and stopped to listen again. This time they heard voices, and even someone clanging against steel bars.

"Okay, now what?" Yoruichi asked, "How are we going to her Rukia out of her cell, without the other prisoners alerting the guards, or anyone else noticing us?"

"I really hadn't thought of this that far ahead" Nel said and turned to her friend, "any ideas?" Yoruichi raised an eyebrow at her.

"Do I look like someone who knows how to open prison cells without a key?"

"I don't know any people who can do that so maybe you do."

"Well, I can't, so we need to think of something cleverer" Yoruichi said, "there must be a guard before the cells, what can we do with him?"

"You'll do absolutely nothing" a stern voice told them, "you're in big enough trouble already." Neliel and Yoruichi turned around to see Tia standing at the end of the corridor, looking even more serious than usual. Neliel swallowed nervously, suddenly even she realized how bad this idea actually was. Yoruichi slowly edged behind her.

"What are you doing here?" Tia said as she walked over to them, she seemed to grow taller in her anger, "I cannot fathom what possessed you to break in here, what the hell were you thinking?"

"We, um, you see" Neliel started but words failed her as Tia's icy glare made her legs wobble, she didn't look that angry but it somehow emanated from her whole being.

"We came for Rukia" Yoruichi piped up, "we figured she was taken here during the raid." Tia frowned, still not understanding their logic.

"And you thought distracting the police with a decoy and sneaking back here was the only way to help your friend?" Tia turned to Neliel, who wanted the Earth to just open up and swallow her whole, "And why?"

"We- she can't be recognized by the police" Neliel managed to finally say, "she...Her family doesn't know she works at the club."

"If she's not underage, her family doesn't need to be contacted, unless she needs to be released on bail."

"Well, she's not underage" Neliel said, then frowned and turned to Yoruichi, "or is she?" Yoruichi shrugged.

"She's not, but her family is kinda famous, so we don't want the press to know about her...job" Neliel said, losing some of her confidence as Tia didn't seem to buy any of their story.

"How do you figure we'd tell the press about this?" she asked instead.

"Well, don't they always know? At least the raid will be in the papers" Neliel said and with every word realized the stupidity of their plan.

"Hey, we just came here to help a friend, and we don't really trust the cops. We know them" Yoruichi came to Nel's rescue, "and Rukia just told us about her family, if they hear about this in any way, she's in big trouble. We're just trying to help out."

"We didn't mean any harm. Tia..." Nel tried to appeal to her softer side, knowing it was somewhere there. Finally Tia sighed and lowered her head, ruffling her hair.

"Fine, fine, I believe you. No one could make something like that up" she said, "but you're still in big trouble. How were you going to get out of here?"

"We didn't really plan this, it was more spur of the moment- kind of thing" Neliel said, straining a smile at Tia. Tia sighed and tried to think. There was a back exit after the holding cells where the prisoners were brought in, they could go out there. Rangiku would just walk out once they had filed her case, so that was not a problem. But getting Rukia out with them was another thing entirely.

"Alright, I might be able to bail you off. But just don't say or do anything." Neliel and Yoruichi agreed without complaints, Tia was now their only ticket out of here unscathed.

"Right, follow me." To their surprise Tia turned around and walked them to the opposite direction. They came to a another short corridor and Tia walked them through the door at its end, flicking on the lights in a dusty small room. She disappeared between the shelves that dominated the small storage room and soon came back with something on her arms.

"Quick, get in" she gestured to them and they followed, "and shut the door."

"What's that?" Yoruichi asked, pointing at the bundles on Tia's arms.

"Uniforms, put them on" she said as she handed them both a pile of folded clothing.

"Wait, what? You think this will get us out of here?" Yoruichi asked, "You're not as smart as you look."

"You'll pose as officers from Armstice city, they already sent here one sergeant. We'll say Rukia is wanted there for some minor offences and you're here to claim her. It should be easy enough to believe" Tia explained, "just get dressed, I don't know how long Rangiku can hold the others. The prison guard should be one of the older guys who might not recognize you from the club."

"Let's hope so" Neliel said as she kicked off her shoes and started to undress. Yoruichi rolled her eyes but did the same, Tia kept watch on the door.

"Tie your hair up" she advsced the women as they hurried into their new clothes, "I'll see if I can find you any badges from the back."

"This took a surprising turn" Yoruichi said to Nel as they squeezed into the uniforms, "your girlfriend is quite resourceful."

"So you think this might work?" Nel asked as she laced up the worn-out boots Tia had given them.

"Hey, I know the dudes who work here, they're not exactly the brightest of the bunch" Yoruichi said as she tied her hair into a tight bun in her neck.

"Yeah, you're right. But still, isn't this a felony of some kind?"

"Yes, posing as an officer of the law is a serious offence" Tia said as she returned with few old badges, "just flash them quickly to him, he shouldn't notice the difference."

"See, even she knows they're idiots" Yoruichi said as she took the badge, "good thing I didn't trust the police to begin with, this would've totally ruined you for me."

"He doesn't have a reason to doubt you, why should he?" Tia said, "The news of this spreading to other cities has already passed through the force, and if your warrant for Rukia takes the priority status he should hand her over without protest. For now she's only a possible witness here, not a suspect."

"Hope you're right" Yoruichi said, "What if he catches us?"

"Then we'll improvise." Yoruichi sighed and shook her head.

"Now I see it, you two are not that different after all." Tia and Neliel exchanged glances and Nel flashed Tia a warm smile, trying to see if she was still mad. Tia replied in kind and reached to squeeze Nel's shoulder.

"Just follow my lead, and look professional, act tough. When Rukia sees you don't act friendly, we can take her out from the back where the prisoners are brought in. From thereon you're on your own."

"But they'll find out eventually that we're not real officers, what'll happen to you then?" Neliel asked, she didn't want Tia to jeopardize her own career for their stupid stunt.

"I'll tell them that I had no reason to doubt you and that you fooled me. The sergeant here is a friend, he trusts me so it should be fine" Tia said and gave Nel a quick smile, "don't worry about me, let's just go get your friend." Yoruichi and Neliel braced themselves as Tia opened the door and lead them back to the corridor that lead to the prison cells.

"Can I say something?" Yoruichi asked as they were about to make the last turn. Tia and Nel turned to her, looking at her expectantly. Yoruichi smirked and grabbed the cap of her hat.

"It's showtime!"

* * *

><p><em>A short chapter I know, and not much relationshippy things happening, but it's what I've got for you now. I don't know what it is with this story, it keeps giving me a hell of time though I'd like to write more on this pairing. I need to practice more on writing women, damn you Bleach for having so few of them! But luckily the few there are are quite badass, so they're fun to write. If I could just get my head around how to do it. <em>


	12. Chapter 12

_**I know Nel and her friends came out as being bit stupid in the last chapter, but I'd like to think they were just trying to help out a friend with little resources and no planning. I didn't mean to make them look like idiots, maybe well-meaning idiots, but as caring and still resourceful and brave. Actually going through with a plan as stupid as it was is, to my mind at least, quite bold and also it gave Tia a chance to make a choice between her work and her friends. So Neliel isn't an idiot, and neither are any of her friends, maybe I should've been more careful how I wrote the chapter. They did acknowledge their own recklessness but thought helping a friend was more important than that, I guess that was what I was trying to say. Anywhore, new chapter (finally)! Onwards!**_

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 12. <strong>_**Disarm you with a smile**_

Rukia stared at the wall of her little cell, her feet nervously tapping against the floor. Every time some other inmate banged on the steel bars of their own cell she flinched, she had almost bitten through her lip in her nervous state. She kept waiting for the moment when her brother would march down that corridor and look at her with such disdain and disappointment it would make her cry. Rukia buried her face into her hands, trying to wrack her brain for some way to talk herself out of this. Maybe she could convince them she had no idea of Nnoitra's criminal activities but that didn't mean they'd let her walk out of here scot free. _Oh hell, what am I even going to say to him? He'll never let me out of the house again when he finds out._

Rukia groaned out loud, glancing outside her cell again. This was just her luck, of course she had to be working when the police suddenly decide to raid the place instead of coming in as clients. She wondered how the police would try to explain how they hadn't noticed anything criminal about the club until now, every night at least few officers were sitting right at the stage. _Then again, I don't think any of us knew anything, and we work there. God, of all the strip clubs in this town I had to pick the one that was just a front for human trafficking. Good going there Rukia, you sure know how to pick them. _

Rukia heard someone enter the corridor and talk with the prison guard, her whole body instantly tensed as she waited to hear her brother's voice. To her slight relief she was quite sure it wasn't him, but couldn't relax quite yet. Byakuya could've just sent over one of his lackeys, thinking picking his little sister from the police station too demeaning for his stature. Footsteps neared her cell and Rukia tried to calm her breathing, pulling her shoulders back. The prison guard appeared in her sight with three other officers, all women. Rukia almost yelped as she recognized Yoruichi and Neliel dressed in police uniforms, but managed to keep quiet, hoping the shock didn't show on her face. The prison guard was holding the keys to her cell in his hand.

"You mean this one?" he asked, pointing at Rukia. The other female officer who Rukia didn't recognize nodded, she looked tough and seemed to emanate similar natural authority as Byakuya did.

"Yes, this is the one. Reiki Oshida, she's wanted for multiple causes of small offences."

"Such as?" the prison guard asked, turning to Rukia as if he could detect the nature of her claimed offences by looking at her.

"Parking tickets" Yoruichi said. The prison guard looked incredulous and frowned, tilting his head to one side as he turned to Yoruichi.

"Yeah, tons of them" Neliel concurred, "and an armed robbery."

"Really? She doesn't look like the type" the guard said.

"Oh, those ones are the worst" Yoruichi said, "she's ruthless, believe you me. We've been chasing her for ages, we've had our eye on her ever since we found out she's settled here."

"She looks bit familiar to me too" the prison guard said. The women were getting slightly anxious, Nel shifted her weight from foot to foot, trying not to fiddle with her hands.

"From wanted posters I'm sure" she said, "now, we're on a tight schedule so do you mind?" The prison guard still didn't look that convinced, but opened the cell anyway, probably because of the cold glare Tia was giving him. Rukia cautiously got up as Neliel and Yoruichi came inside and handcuffed her, Yoruichi gave her a quick wink before turning back to the others.

"Thank you for your cooperation, our chief sends his regards." Neliel and Yoruichi grabbed Rukia's arms and escorted her out of the cell, Tia stayed behind with the prison guard to make sure their ruse had been successful. The three women headed for the back exit, trying hard not to make a run for it but to appear calm as they should be. The other prisoners gave them long looks as they hurried down the corridor.

"What's the hurry, sweetie?" one of them asked as they walked past his cell.

"Shut it" Yoruichi snapped at him.

"Oooh, feisty one..."

"Just a little more" Nel whispered as they walked towards the back doors, she could feel sweat running down her neck. Yoruichi was grabbing tightly onto Rukia's arm though outside she looked calm.

"Almost there" Neliel said as they were at the doors, Yoruichi pushed them open and they were out in the fresh air. The trio breathed out, amazed that they had made it so far.

"Okay, now where?" Yoruichi took a look around and nodded towards one of smaller back alleys.

"There, should be empty. Let's just hope no one follows us." Rukia was still in shock and too excited to say anything as they rushed to the alley, Nel kept looking over her shoulder in case someone had decided to follow them. But the parking lot was empty, and so were the streets.

"Looks like we made it" Yoruichi said once they were few blocks away from the station. Rukia felt her legs shake, her heartbeat was still thumping in her ears.

"Yeah, guess so" Neliel said, "but let's not get hasty. We need to get rid of these uniforms. Any suggestions?" For the first time Rukia spoke up, her throat was dry and she had to swallow before she could even talk.

"My place is just around the corner, you can change there." Yoruichi and Neliel exchanged surprised looks.

"I thought you lived back at the mansion, enjoying the live of luxury."

"It's not permanent, I just needed a place where I can be alone. It's small but it's mine." Yoruichi and Nel just shrug their shoulders, it was a good as any other option they could think of.

"Fine, let's go there. Lead the way."

* * *

><p>Rukia had been right, the apartment was quite small. Once inside Rukia immediately kicked off her high heels she used for work and seemed to finally relax.<p>

"Just leave your clothes wherever" she sighed as she casually undressed and walked straight to her bedroom. Yoruichi and Nel didn't waste time getting rid of their uniforms, the stiff fabric chaffed their skin and itched.

"I wonder if Ran's still there" Neliel said as she pulled off the trousers.

"I told her to call once she was out, shouldn't take long anymore" Yoruichi said as she discarded the jacket to the floor, "what do you figure we do with these?"

"Burn them?" Nel shrugged as she took off her boots, "I have a feeling they won't be needing these anymore. And it would be bit suspicious if someone saw Tia bringing in two old uniforms."

"Guess so" Yoruichi complied as they gathered the clothes into one pile, "but we can't leave here in just our underwear either."

"Rukia, you got any spare clothes?" Neliel asked as she walked into the apartment. It was small and old, but cosy. The walls were still bare and the only pieces of furniture were and old couch and a bookshelf, but it looked it could make for a nice little home. Rukia poked her head out from the bedroom door, her makeup was gone and she was wearing a loose hoodie.

"I might have something that would fit you. My brother's old clothes." Yoruichi cooed and leaned on Nel's shoulder.

"When are we going to meet this hunky brother of yours? He seems dreamy." Rukia's face turned red and she bowed her head down.

"Never, if I have any say in it." Rukia looked at her two closest friends who had just busted her out of jail and were now lounging in the living room of her secret flat in their usual racy underwear. _Byakuya would have a fit if he ever knew about any of this. And when did my life turn into something I need to hide from my own brother?_

"I don't think he would...appreciate everything you've done for me."

"Yeah, figures" Yoruichi scoffed, "dreamy with a big stick up his backside."

"Well, maybe we can get back at him by wearing his old clothes. Maybe they'd work like a voodoo doll" Nel said. Both Yoruichi and Rukia turned to give Neliel questioning looks.

"You know, when you make a voodoo doll, you need something that belonged to that person you want to curse" Nel tried to explain, "so, now when we wear Byakuya's old clothes, maybe he'll-"

"Start stripping?" Yoruichi said.

"Wearing leopard-print underwear?" Rukia suggested.

"Or golden bikinis?"

"Or a nurse's outfit?"

"Alright, fine! I was just trying to lighten the mood" Nel said as the others burst into laughter.

"Well it worked" Yoruichi managed to say in between giggles, "can you imagine Byakuya in a string bikini, with heels?" Nel tried to keep a straight face but the mental image was too strong. She started to laugh even louder than the others, pictures of stone-faced Byakuya in stripper clothes flashing in her head. Rukia was bent over, leaning her hands on her knees.

"Oh please, stop it" she gasped, "I can't look him in the eye if you keep going."

"I can't talk, it hurts" Neliel said, pressing her arms on her stomach.

"Let's hope the clothes won't work like that" Yoruichi said, finally calming herself down.

"Yeah, let's" Rukia wheezed, "I'll go get you some, try make yourselves at home." Yoruichi and Nel looked around in the apartment and made a dash for the couch. Neliel was first, but Yoruichi squeezed herself next to her.

"You're getting fat" Nel said as Yoruichi forced her against the couch.

"How do you know it's me and not you?"

"It's you who keeps stuffing her face with pizza and beer every night."

"But I work harder than you."

"As if!" Rukia went back to dig through some of his brother's old clothes she wore herself when she needed to walk around incognito. She could hear Yoruichi and Neliel bicker and make each other laugh and for the first time in a long time she had a feeling she was doing something right. Despite everything that had happened tonight she felt happy. She was doing something different than what was expected of her, and now when she was safely back at her flat, Rukia almost felt elated. She knew Byakuya could never understand, no one in her family would, but the thrill of escaping from a police holding cell with her two friends dressed as cops...It was so insane yet so exciting. Rukia smiled to herself as she grabbed few pairs of sweatpants and old hoodies from the back of her closet. _If mother could see me now..._

Yoruichi and Nel had come to a brief pause in their argument as they managed sit comfortably on the couch, Yoruichi had thrown her long legs over the arm of the couch. Rukia threw the clothes at them, Neliel caught them midair.

"Oh, college hoodies" she said as she turned the piece of clothing over in her hands, "so he's a smart guy too. Nice."

"Probably only got gentleman's grades, or whatever they call them" Yoruichi said as she slipped into the oversized sweatpants. The legs were few inches too long for her and she tried to roll them up.

"Byakuya was in the top two per cent of his year" Rukia said discreetly, feeling the need to defend her brother, "he might be bit...stiff, but he's not stupid."

"Too bad, I could've hated him less if he wasn't perfect."

"How can you hate someone you don't even know?"

"It's surprisingly easy once you realize most people are assholes."

"So idiots until proven otherwise?"

"Exactly."

"You guys want tea or something?" Rukia asked as she went into the tiny kitchen corner.

"Sure" Nel said as she looked down at her new clothes, "how do I look? Would I go for a student?"

"As long as you kept your mouth shut" Yoruichi smirked and earned a punch on her shoulder.

Rukia came back with three mugs of hot tea.

"Thanks" Nel smiled as she took one, wrapping her fingers around the warm cup.

"You wouldn't happen to have anything stronger, would you?" Yoruichi asked, "I could use a drink after everything's that happened tonight."

"I thought you were bit tipsy the whole time. Judging by all the wine you downed before" Nel said.

"Oh please, that was nothing."

"You're tolerance is starting to scare me."

"When you've taken your clothes off long enough, the high tolerance comes along with it." Neliel and Rukia were quiet as Yoruichi calmly sipped her tea. She noticed their worried looks and laughed.

"Oh c'mon, don't look so morbid. I was just kidding." Her friends didn't look that convinced. Yoruichi rolled her eyes and shook her head.

"Can't even make a joke anymore..."

"Speaking of jokes, you need to tell us if you catch Byakuya walking around in anything with leopard print in it" Neliel told Rukia, who almost choked on her tea. Yoruichi laughed even louder this time as Rukia tried to clear her throat.

"You two are just...awful!"

"I think we're adorable" Yoruichi said and leaned her head against Nel's with a wide smile on her face. Rukia laughed and shook her head again.

"You guys..."

* * *

><p>Neliel waved Yoruichi goodbye as she left Rukia's apartment. It was already so late it was almost early, the quietest time of the day. Nel felt safe walking home, the excitement of the night had already faded and left her feeling giddy and somehow invincible. She almost skipped as she headed towards her apartment, not even noticing the faint footsteps that started to follow her from a small alleyway. Nel decided to take a shortcut through a small abandoned side street when she heard a clatter from behind her and turned around to look. First it seemed that maybe a cat had toppled a trash can and she breathed out of relief but then a slim silhouette emerged from the shadows and waved at her.<p>

"Hi Neliel." Nel frowned, not recognizing the voice, and took few steps back. Her stalker started to walk towards her, hands tucked in his pockets and head tilted to one side.

"Don't be scared, I just wanna talk."

"Well, I don't" Nel said and turned around to run but suddenly a hand grabbed her arm and stopped her. Neliel's eyes widened in shock, the man couldn't have possibly reached that distance in just a few seconds.

"I wasn't asking." Neliel felt herself shiver as she turned to face the man again. She could now see his face even in the shadows and hoped she hadn't. He looked surprisingly young, or maybe it was just because of his frail frame and sharp features. Angular jaw, high cheekbones and slanted eyes so narrowed Nel could only see a slit of his irises. His overgrown white hair hung over his face and his mouth seemed to be twisted into a constant mocking smile.

"Just a little chat, okay pet?" Neliel drew in a shaky breath but managed to nod.

"Excellent" the man said but didn't let her arm go, "now, play nice and everything will be fine. Understand me, pet?" Neliel was shaking from fear, something in the man's voice and eyes was making every cell in her body wanting to run away. The man tilted his head as Neliel didn't answer and slightly tightened his grip. Nel moaned from pain, she was sure she could hear her bones grind against each other.

"Yes" she breathed out, "yes, please don't..."

"Shhhh" the man shushed him and Nel immediately silenced herself. The man's smile widened.

"Good. Now, I know all about the little escapade you and your friends performed tonight. But it's okay, I'm not a cop so I'm not telling anyone. But just so you know, pet..." The man pulled Nel's arm so he could whisper into her ear.

"Stay out of this. Just move on with your life and you get to keep your pretty head. Otherwise, it's mine." Nel's breath was stuck in her throat, she could barely hear anything from the thumping sound of her heart pounding in her ears.

"I hope you don't think I'm kidding, 'cause I'm not. And I'd really hate to hurt you, because then things get messy, and it's always a bitch to clean up afterwards." The man pulled back so he could look Neliel in the eye.

"And you should probably tell that girlfriend of yours to be careful too. If she thinks she has it tough now, she's seen nothing. And my boss won't think twice about sending me after every single one of you little bitches if you don't stay out of this. Understand all that, pet?"

"Y- yes." The man seemed pleased but he still wasn't letting go of Nel's arm.

"That's good. And I believe you too. But you know, my boss" the man said, moving his free hand to Nel's neck, "he wants to see results. He wanted me to come after you and scare you, which I think I've already done, but he likes me to leave a mark. Or something, I don't really know, maybe he gets off on it. Makes you wonder why he doesn't do it himself, he's much better at it than I am."

"Wh- what are saying?" Nel managed to ask as the man sunk his hand into her hair, "you promised..."

"I said everything will be fine, and it will be once we're done here" the man said as he leaned closer, "now, remember to play nice, pet."

* * *

><p>Tia woke up to a faint sound of knocking. She had gone home after making sure Rangiku had made it out of the station in one piece and without suspicion, hoping she could assure Shunsui that Rukia had gone missing without her knowing anything about it. It was a long shot but doable.<p>

The knocking repeated and Tia was fully awake. Her alert senses made her immediately get out of bed and grab the gun from her bedside table. She walked to the door with light feet, listening to any possible noise that would give her hints on who was behind her door this time of night. But she didn't have to guess for long.

"Tia, it's... It's me, Neliel. Please I, I wanna talk." Tia didn't hesitate a second as she opened the door, though she realized she had no idea if Nel was alone. But she was, and she looked scared. Whatever resentment Tia had had for her before was gone in a second. She could see Nel was holding back tears and her hands were shaking. Tia recognized the signs of struggle on her, scratches on her hands and neck, her lower lip was bruised, her clothes torn, messed up hair and even few spots of blood. Tia noticed she wasn't wearing her own clothes, the sweatpants and hoodie were obviously men's and Tia figured she had changed into them after getting rid of the uniforms. _Smart girl. _

"Come in" Tia said and pulled her inside, securing the door tightly. Neliel exhaled heavily as she staggered inside, wiping her face with her hand.

"Who was it?" Tia asked after lowering her gun to the nearest table, "Are you hurt?"

"No, I'm...I'm fine, really. He just...scared me, that's all" Nel said, her voice slightly faltering.

"Who? Who did this?"

"Oh Tia, please stop it, please" Neliel suddenly said, turning to grab Tia's hands into hers, "promise me, leave it alone. He...He said he'd kill you."

"Who said? Leave what alone? And why?" Tears ran down Nel's face as she tried to repeat the man's words.

"There was...This man, he...He came after me and told me that he knows everything, and if I...If any of us try to do anything he'll come after us. Tia, please..."

"Shhhh" Tia shushed and pulled Nel closer, "it's alright, you're safe here." Neliel sobbed against Tia's shoulder.

After few minutes Tia braced herself, she knew this wasn't the moment to be thinking of police protocol but she had to make sure.

"Neliel, that man...He didn't force you to..." Nel pulled back to look at Tia in the eyes. It took her couple of seconds to catch Tia's meaning.

"Oh no, no, he didn't. But he told he'd let me go and then he didn't, so I tried to run and he grabbed me. But then he just vanished, I didn't even see where he went." _Oh thank God, _Tia sighed and stroked Nel's hair.

"I'm so sorry about this. I should've come after you."

"You couldn't have known this would happen, it's okay...And I just got scared, it just looks worse" Nel said, trying to belittle her experience, "actually, could I use your bathroom?"

"Of course. I'll get you a towel."

"Thank you" Nel said softly and grabbed Tia's hand as she went, "really, thank you." Tia squeezed her hand, smiling kindly.

"I'm just glad you're okay."

"Yeah, me too" Nel said, managing to utter a light laugh, "it's been quite a night."

"Indeed it has" Tia said, "you want to stay the night?" Tia winced as Neliel looked surprised. _She thinks I'm still mad at her...And I should be, risking her life like that, it was so incredibly stupid...But I can't really blame her. Not now at least._

"Are you sure?" Neliel asked, "I thought you'd still be angry with me, about earlier."

"We can talk about that later. Now I just want you safe. I'll get you that towel" Tia said, stroking Nel's face with the back of her hand before going. Neliel sighed softly, she had been hoping she wouldn't have to go home alone tonight. _She's too good to me. I don't even know what I'd do without her now. _Nel smiled as she raked her fingers through her messy hair. _Funny how you don't even know how much you needed someone before you meet them. And suddenly you can't imagine being without them. _

Tia raised an eyebrow at Nel as she came back with a fresh towel and clean clothes.

"What are you smiling about?"

"You" Neliel said as Tia handed her the towel. She leaned closer to quickly kiss her cheek, making Tia's eyes widen.

"Thank you, Tia" Nel said quietly as she hugged the towel against her chest, "for everything." Tia looked at her in silence, not knowing what to say. Nel's warmth and kindness was throwing her off again.

"I know I'm just a big mess compared to you, and I'm sorry you have to clean up after me, and my friends. I know I've caused you so much trouble and worry, even by coming here now, but I want you to know that I came to you because I knew you could help me. That I can trust you. I've only known you for such a short time but I really feel that we could be something great", Nel paused to breathe in for a second and flashed a quick, nervous smile, "Or at least I think you're really great, you're amazing." Nel shifted her weight from foot to foot as Tia kept staring at her, not saying a word.

"Sorry, I just wanted to know that I really care about you, and that I'm sorry that I'm a mess, I never wanted to cause you any trouble" she said, feeling anxious. Tia closed the short distance between them and took Nel's face into her hands, staring deep into her green eyes. Without saying anything, she kissed her.


End file.
